"Why
is it very important for men to have the right
knowledge about the Holy Spirit?"
__________________________________
Why is it likewise important for man to confess the right understanding concerning the Holy Spirit? Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself points this out, thus:
"The Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot
receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know
Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you." (John 14:17, NKJV)
Those who do not know the Holy Spirit will
not receive Him. The Holy Spirit dwells only in those who know
Him. Hence, just as it is important to have the right knowledge and
understanding concerning the Father and the Son, so is having
the right understanding concerning the Holy Spirit. And the
right understanding concerning them is founded on the teachings of
the Bible.
Concerning the Holy Spirit:
The teaching of the Bible regarding the Holy Spirit is crystal clear. If people would only strictly adhere to this teaching, they would not fall into the mistake of taking the Holy Spirit as God. This is how the Lord Jesus Christ introduced the Holy Spirit:
"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom
the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and
bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said
unto you." (John 14:26, King James Version)
The Holy Spirit is the Comforter whom the Father
sends in the name of Christ. He teaches the chosen ones
everything and reminds them of what Christ had said. And aside from
the Father, the Son also sends the Holy Spirit for the benefit of
the servants of God. Christ points this:
"But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send
unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth which proceedeth
from the Father, he shall testify of me." (John 15:26, Ibid.)
Another role of the Holy Spirit is to guide the
chosen ones into all the truth. He does not speak of Himself but
does so only according to the commandment of the one who sent Him.:
"However, when He, the
Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will
not speak on His own [authority,] but whatever He hears He will speak;
and He will tell you things to come." (John 16:13, Ibid.)
"The Holy Spirit, whom the Son and the Father send,
could not have been God. The Bible testifies that there are "seven
Spirits of God sent out into all the earth" (Rev. 5:6, NKJV)
.
.
"And I looked, and behold, in the midst of throne and the four living
creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it
had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the
seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth." (Rev. 5:6, NKJV)
Were the Holy Spirit God also, it would appear
that there are not only three Gods but nine Gods because there are
seven spirits being sent by God. The fact that the Holy Spirit is
being sent proves that He is not, and could not be God, because the
one who sends is greater than the one sent.
"Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his
master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him." (John
13:16, NKJV)
Even adherents of the Trinitarian doctrine concur
to this. James Cardinal Gibbons, a Catholic authority, rhetorically
asks: "Is not the power that sends an ambassador greater than he who
is sent?" (The Faith of Our Fathers, p.96). In view of
this, the Son is greater than the Holy Spirit and the Father is
greater than both the Son and the Holy Spirit because both of them
are being sent by the Father. Clearly, then, the so-called three
persons of the Trinity are not equal as claimed by its proponents.
Not found in the Bible:
Believers of the Trinitarian doctrine themselves tacitly admit that the Bible does not call the Holy Spirit God. Catholic authority, the Rev. Msgr. Joseph Pohle, wrote that "the Bible nowhere expressly calls the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity 'God'" (The Divine Trinity; A Dogmatic Treatise, p.109). Indeed, not only is such doctrine not found in the Bible, it is also against the revealed teaching of God written therein concerning the Holy Spirit. As to how this doctrine came about, Catholic author, the Rev. Clement H, Crock, provides this information:
Believers of the Trinitarian doctrine themselves tacitly admit that the Bible does not call the Holy Spirit God. Catholic authority, the Rev. Msgr. Joseph Pohle, wrote that "the Bible nowhere expressly calls the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity 'God'" (The Divine Trinity; A Dogmatic Treatise, p.109). Indeed, not only is such doctrine not found in the Bible, it is also against the revealed teaching of God written therein concerning the Holy Spirit. As to how this doctrine came about, Catholic author, the Rev. Clement H, Crock, provides this information:
"In 381, at the Council of Constatinople, it was
defined that is is an article of faith that the Holy Ghost is God."
(Discourses on the Apostles' Creed, p.206)
As the Christ-is-God doctrine is an invention of a
Catholic church's council in the 4th century, so is the teaching
that the Holy Spirit is God, this time by the council of
Constantinople in 381 AD, more than half a century after the former
was formulated as an official doctrine of the Catholic Church
in 325 AD.
Hence, these teachings, upon
which the Trinitarian doctrine stands, are
man-made and they run counter to the teachings of the Bible. Those
who have accepted such doctrine possess a wrong understanding
regarding the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Had they
conformed with what is written in the Bible, they would not have
been misled into believing such an erroneous teaching.
The right understanding regarding the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Spirit, is indeed very important because it goes
with the attainment salvation and eternal life.
____________________
References:
Crock, Clement H. Discourses on the Apostles Creed. Nihil Obstat: Arthur J. Scanlan, STD. Imprimatur: Pat Cardinal Hayes. New York: John Wagner, Inc., 1938.
Gibbons, James Cardinal. The Faith of Our Fathers. Rockford, Illinois: Tan Books and Publishers, Inc., l980.
Pohle, Joseph. The Divine Trinity: A Dogmatic Treatise. n.p.: B. Huder Books Co.., 1911
Crock, Clement H. Discourses on the Apostles Creed. Nihil Obstat: Arthur J. Scanlan, STD. Imprimatur: Pat Cardinal Hayes. New York: John Wagner, Inc., 1938.
Gibbons, James Cardinal. The Faith of Our Fathers. Rockford, Illinois: Tan Books and Publishers, Inc., l980.
Pohle, Joseph. The Divine Trinity: A Dogmatic Treatise. n.p.: B. Huder Books Co.., 1911
Source: The above excerpts are from the article:
Biblical Truths Concerning the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
by Ruben D. Aromin. God's Message, February 2007, p.17-18
___________________
Bible Study
Suggestion: If you have further questions, please feel free
to visit the
Iglesia ni Cristo congregation nearest you. A minister or
an evangelical worker would be happy to answer any biblical question
you have in mind. ____________________________________________________________________________
Links:
