Dear Friends,

AS WITH many other Bible doctrines, the clear teaching of the Scriptures about the Holy Spirit has become obscured in people’s minds because of erroneous ideas. For example, it is commonly taught and believed that the Holy Spirit (or ‘Holy Ghost’) is the third person of a ‘trinity’. Many, too, think that the Holy Spirit is possessed by men and women today, as it was in the time of the Apostles. But neither of these views agrees with what the Bible says.

Subsequently, the sun, moon and stars were made to appear. On the second day the waters were appointed to their respective places:

The spirit of God, then, caused the seas to be formed and the firmament or heavens to appear. Now in describing these very same events, Job declares:

These parallel passages form a convincing proof that ‘spirit’ is the ‘power of God’.

The earth being prepared, the work of populating it began. Again, it was accomplished by the exercise of God’s spirit, or power. First the vegetable, then the animal kingdom was created, each with the ability to reproduce itself:

It was a wonderful and glorious work, and it caused the Psalmist to exclaim:

The crowning act of God’s creative work was the formation of man from the dust of the ground. The record states:

It has already been pointed out that the basic meaning of ‘spirit’ is ‘breath’. When the breath of life was breathed into Adam’s lifeless body, it was another example of the ‘spirit’ or ‘power’ of God at work. This is confirmed by what we read in Genesis 7. The chapter records the effects of the Flood that overswept the world in the days of Noah, when:

The margin of the Authorised Version gives as a stricter translation:

When God breathed the ‘breath of life’ into Adam, He breathed His spirit into him and the body then commenced its vital functions. It must be evident that if this spirit or power is withdrawn, the result is — death. Two more verses make this quite clear. First the Psalmist:

Then Solomon, in describing the day of death:

(We note in passing that these verses give no support to the false notion that an ‘immortal soul’ was breathed into man at his creation, and that this continues living after the death of the body. Man was merely given ‘spirit’ or ‘breath’ which endowed him with life; withdrawal of it meant that he reverted to his original lifeless state.)

Having created the Universe, the Earth and all upon it, God maintains it in an organised state by means of His spirit. It follows therefore that there is no place where its influence does not exist. David emphasised this in the Psalms:

So far we have considered the spirit of God in its ‘natural’ or general manifestation, i.e. as we witness it in nature all around us. Its presence, though essential for our continued existence, does not intrude into our lives. Its work continues whether we as individuals recognise it or not. But there is another, more dramatic, more specific way in which the power of God has manifested itself through the ages. We refer to the ‘Holy Spirit’. The word ‘holy’ means ‘separate’, ‘sanctified’ or ‘set apart’. ‘Holy Spirit’ therefore denotes God’s spirit or power, specially sanctified or set apart for a particular work. It was employed when miraculous results were required by God for the furtherance of His predetermined purpose with this earth and its inhabitants, and it produced results which were outside man’s natural experience. It also took the form of certain powers given to men which enabled them to do or say things which were outside their natural capabilities.

The distinction between the ‘spirit’ and ‘Holy Spirit’ is conveniently illustrated by a reference to Psalm 51. David prays:

This is an allusion to the power of God by which all live and move and have their being. But in verse 11 David asks:

The Psalmist recognised that God had given him a power additional to man’s normal attributes and leaves us in no doubt as to how the Holy Spirit manifested itself in his case. He wrote:

It was the possession of the Holy Spirit which enabled David to speak infallibly concerning his illustrious descendant who was to be born a thousand years ahead, namely Jesus Christ. So he continued:

The writings of David abound with references to this ‘covenant’ which was to have its fulfilment in Christ. In Psalm 16, for example, he was able, by the infallible guidance of the Holy Spirit, to foretell not only the death of Christ, but also his resurrection; and further, to set down the very words which Christ himself was to use:

On the day of Pentecost the Apostle Peter quoted this very passage to convince his hearers that the death and resurrection of Christ should not be thought incredible — David had foretold these events long before:

This introduces us to another important aspect of the work of the Holy Spirit (or power of God) — that of causing the Scriptures to be written. The Bible is a collection of 66 books, written by over 30 different authors during a period of more than 1,500 years. It is accurate, harmonious and purposeful. It could not have been the result of mere human effort — the time factor alone would preclude this. What was it that enabled the writers to make their contributions, piece by piece, so that the whole volume might well be regarded as having one author? The answer is given by Peter, writing concerning the Old Testament scriptures:

The Apostle Paul, writing to Timothy, made a similar declaration:

The phrase ‘given by inspiration of God’ is one word in the original Greek and means literally ‘God-breathed’. In comparing these two passages of Scripture, we note that Peter says the writers were ‘moved’ or ‘borne irresistibly along’ by the Holy Spirit; Paul says the Scriptures were ‘God-breathed’. As the word ‘spirit’ means ‘breath’, it will be seen that the two phrases mean exactly the same thing — the Scriptures were written by men who were guided infallibly by the power of the Holy Spirit. This guidance was not always borne willingly. The denunciations by the prophets, for example, were not popular with their fellow-men, and they sometimes shrank from their divinely-appointed task. These occasions give us an insight into the ‘irresistible’ way the Holy Spirit moved the prophets to do their duties. Ezekiel, for instance, records:

Jeremiah tells us:

At other times the guidance of the Holy Spirit matched the mood of the speaker or writer, as in the case of David discoursing on his favourite theme — the coming of Christ:

Whatever the inclinations or desires of the writers of the sacred records, we find there was an unbroken line of men who recorded them by the power of the Holy Spirit. God said of Moses, who wrote the first five books of the Bible:

Moses’ successor was Joshua, of whom God said:

Joshua was succeeded by the Judges, of whom we frequently read:

The first King of Israel, Saul, was given the Spirit, which enabled him to prophesy — although it was subsequently withdrawn because of his disobedience. During the next 400 years, prophet succeeded prophet, all possessing the power of God to give divine authority to their words. Micah describes his mission in this way:

We note how, throughout, the Spirit or Holy Spirit is always represented as the power of God.

The persistent wickedness of Israel at length resulted in God’s threatened judgments coming on the nation. First the Kingdom of Israel, then the Kingdom of Judah, was overrun. Micah had warned the people of the consequences:

Such a state of affairs was not to continue indefinitely, however. God had promised that from the family of David:

This is a clear reference to the coming of Christ. (We note that here, as with many other passages in both Old and New Testaments, the word ‘Holy’ is omitted. There is no confusion, as the context and content of a passage clearly indicates when a miraculous element is involved, as distinct from the operation of God’s ‘free’ spirit.)

Note how, in this verse, the ‘Holy Spirit’ is described as the ‘power of the Highest’, exactly in accordance with the teaching of the rest of the Scriptures — ’holy’ because it was ‘set apart’ to perform an event unique in history, the begettal of the Son of God.

It is unfortunate that in our Authorised Version of The Bible the Greek word ‘pneuma’ is frequently translated as ‘ghost’. The American Committee of the 1881 Revised Version recommended that ‘for Holy Ghost adopt uniformly the rendering Holy Spirit’ — a course followed by most modern translators. Christadelphians adopt this rendering, believing that ‘spirit’, scripturally understood, is the power of God. To associate it with spectral apparitions causes needless confusion.

With the coming of Christ, there commenced a new era in the purpose of God, in which His Holy Spirit played an important part. In the form of a dove, it descended on Christ at his baptism and empowered him to do many wonderful works. The gospel records abound with the remarkable miracles he performed which extended even to the raising of the dead. These miracles provided evidence that could not be refuted, that God by His Spirit was speaking and working through Christ.

After Christ’s ascension to heaven, the Holy Spirit was bestowed upon the Apostles in a particularly dramatic manner. A rushing mighty wind was heard, and jets having the appearance of flaming fire rested upon the twelve. The effect was remarkable:

There was no mistaking the fact that the possession of the Spirit enabled these followers of Jesus to do things otherwise impossible. They were able to speak other languages without tuition. Peter healed a man lame from birth and raised Tabitha from the dead. Paul restored the life of Eutychus, the young man who fell to his death from an upper balcony. These, and many other miracles, were performed in the days of the Apostles.

In I Corinthians Chapter 12, Paul lists the various forms these ‘gifts of the Holy Spirit’ took. There were, he said:

Possession of the Holy Spirit enabled the recipient, according to his particular ‘gift’, to give, for example, infallible advice on matters of doctrine or practice; to restore the sick to health; to predict future events with certainty; to discern falsehood; to speak or to interpret a foreign language without previous instruction. Nor were these powers used only in private. They were employed with the object of establishing Christianity in the hearts of those who were willing to be convinced. To this end, there were many public demonstrations of the effects of the Spirit. It was the means which God used to give witness to the truth of the gospel. Paul summarised the matter when he wrote concerning the work of the apostles:

The Holy Spirit, in witnessing for God, not only conferred blessings. As Ananias and Sapphira found to their cost, the Spirit was not to be trifled with. Acts chapter 5 records how this man and his wife attempted to deceive the apostle Peter regarding a certain donation they had made. They sold their possessions and falsely pretended to hand over all the money, while in fact they kept part for themselves:

These remarkable powers of the Spirit mightily impressed the people of the Apostles’ generation. They were even sought by those who wanted to use them for improper purposes. Simon the sorcerer, for example, wanted to purchase the Holy Spirit. He was severely rebuked by Peter:

As we observe from the many examples recorded in the New Testament, possession of the Holy Spirit produced unmistakable evidence that a superhuman power was at work. There was no argument about it, even by the opponents of Christianity. When Peter and John cured the lame man, the Jewish authorities reluctantly admitted:

Again, at the untimely death of Ananias and Sapphira, it is recorded:

It should not be surprising to find that the Holy Spirit is not given to men today. The immediate object of its bestowal — the establishment of the Christian faith — was fulfilled when the writing of the New Testament was finished. With the completed Bible in our hands, we have all the evidence we need that God has spoken. Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians, clearly foretold that these gifts of the Holy Spirit would be withdrawn:

The fulfilment of these words is true to experience. After the days of the Apostles and their contemporaries, there is no authentic record of the miraculous use of these powers. It is true that through the ages men have arisen who have pretended to work miracles in the name of Christ, but the facts do not bear close investigation.

Why then did Christ speak of it as ‘the Comforter’, and use the personal pronoun ‘he’ in referring to it? And why did he say of ‘the Spirit of truth’:

The Acts of the Apostles tells us how the Jewish religious authorities were moved with bitter hatred against the apostles, because the latter, having the gifts of the Holy Spirit, could work mighty miracles. These miracles gave practical evidence to the people that the apostles were speaking with divine authority.

The elders and priests arrested the apostles on several occasions; but they had no need to engage a defending advocate. Because of the power of the Holy Spirit bestowed upon them, they were aided by something far more effective than the ablest human advocate. The Lord Jesus had forewarned them before His crucifixion:

In Acts ch. 4 verse 5 to 14, we find a literal fulfilment of Christ’s words. Peter and John had been arrested and brought before the rulers, elders, and scribes. Peter made his defence before the court. But he spoke as the power of the Holy Spirit directed him:

He declared that the miracle of healing he had performed on the man crippled from birth had been done in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom they had crucified but whom God had raised from the dead. The effect on the court was remarkable:

We see then how appropriate was the figure Christ used concerning the power of the Spirit. The power enabled the apostles to defend the Gospel under the guidance of the Spirit. It was, therefore, fitting that Christ should describe it as a helper, or advocate, and use the personal pronoun ‘he’.

The Holy Spirit, as we have seen, is that part of God’s power specially marked out to perform some particular work. His Spirit being all-powerful and all-pervading, it is not surprising to find that it is closely associated with other aspects of His creative work. We have already seen that God set in order the heavens and the earth by reason of His spirit moving upon the face of the waters. David declares:

Another example of the power of God will be found in the work of the angels, those immortal beings who execute the divine will throughout His limitless universe. We read that God:

The angels are termed ‘spirits’ because they are energised, not by flesh and blood like mortal men, but by spirit. We all die eventually because our systems gradually deteriorate with age. Flesh and blood does not sustain life indefinitely; but beings infused directly with divine power survive for ever. This is the way men and women will be rewarded by God for their obedience to Him.

Jesus said:

The birth of water is a reference to baptism, which all must undergo if they would be saved. The birth of the Spirit will take place after Christ has approved the righteous at his judgment seat. The glorious hope of Christ’s followers will be realised and they will be subjected to a change of nature.

We can now appreciate how this subject of God’s spirit and His Holy Spirit covers His whole purpose from the creation to its glorious fulfilment. It is truly a matter of great privilege that God has promised His servants a share in the wonderful future which the return of Christ will bring to this earth. The only sensible thing to do is to grasp firmly the opportunity God has offered to us in His Word, the Bible:

The teaching of the Scriptures is clear; all we have to do is accept it.

• (This article is placed on the web by The Aletheian Christadelphian Fellowship, Bible Students in the U.K.

  to draw attention to the true teaching of the Bible).

• Web Page Edition: April 2008

The word Christadelphian is a Greek word, and translated, it means the brethren of Christ (Heb. 2:11), We are a body of people associated together by a belief in the things concerning the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 8:12); and by immersion into Christ (Gal. 3:27) for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38) and a part in his resurrection (Rom. 6:5).

We do not profess to have received any new revelation, but hold that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are able to make wise unto Salvation (2 Tim. 3:15,17). Believing in the Divine Authorship of the Bible, we think it only reasonable to reject any interpretation thereof which fails to harmonise all the testimonies of the Holy Scriptures; and finding that the creeds of the various sects around are, in a great variety of ways, opposed to the direct teaching of the Bible, we feel compelled to stand apart, making appeal in all such matters to the statements of Scripture, and testing all creeds thereby.

We believe in the personal, visible return of Christ to the earth, to set up his power and reign thereon, and we seek to share this knowledge with others. We offer our services in expounding the message of the Bible without cost of any kind.