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Featured The Holy Spirit in The Book of Acts

Discussion in 'Baptist Theology & Bible Study' started by SavedByGrace, Oct 6, 2021.

  1. SavedByGrace

    SavedByGrace Well-Known Member

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    This Books is called “The Acts of the Apostles” in many Bibles. It should be referred to as “The Acts of the Holy Spirit”, as He is mentioned in Acts more than in any other Book of the entire Holy Bible.

    There are some who regard the Holy Spirit as a created being, as did the early Church heretic, Origen, who lived in the 2nd/3rd century. The Jehovah’s Witnesses, as other cults, teach this blasphemy today. Further, the “Personality” of the Holy Spirit is also denied by some, who teach that He is no more than a “power or force” of God, and therefore “impersonal”. The Book of Acts is very clear on Who the Holy Spirit is.

    Firstly, when the Holy Spirit is said to be a “Person”, this is used to show that He is not a “thing”. On the definition of “person”, the 1913 Webster’s English dictionary says: “A living, self-conscious being, as distinct from an animal or a thing; a moral agent”. This is exactly what the Holy Bible does Teach concerning the Holy Spirit, as we shall seen from the Book of Acts. The use of the term “Person” for the Members of the Godhead, must not be used in the sense of corporeality, or being human. Each “Person” in the Godhead, The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and distinct from each other, and are “living, self-conscious, moral Beings”.

    The “Personality” of the Holy Spirit:

    The Acts of the Holy Spirit:

    Speaks through the people, chapters 1:16; 10:19; 11:12; 11:28; 21:11; 28:25

    Is Lied to as God and Lord, 5:3, 4, 9

    Convicts the sinner of their sins and need to repent, 2:37-38

    Is Tested , 5:9

    Is a Witness, 5:32; 20:23

    Is Resisted,7:51

    Sends Barnabas and Saul for work that He has “called” them to, 13:2

    Forbids the preaching of the Gospel, 16:6,7

    Appoints leaders in the Church, 20:28

    Warns of the hardness of peoples hearts, 28:25-27

    etc, etc

    All of which are only possible by a “living, self-conscious, moral Being”, and not of an impersonal “thing”, like a “power”.

    The Deity of The Holy Spirit

    “But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God…But Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord?…” (5:3, 4, 9)

    The Apostle Peter says to Anania, that he lied to “The Holy Spirit (το πνευμα το αγιον)”. And then says, in doing so, he actually lied “to the God (τω θεω). And then tells his wife, Sapphira, that they had “tested the Spirit of the Lord”, by their actions.

    Here we have the Deity of the Holy Spirit, where He is called “God”, and “the Spirit of the Lord”. Notice the definite article in the Greek, “τω”, with “God”, where it cannot be translated as “god”.

    In Chapter 10 we read of the Holy Spirit speaking to Peter, and sending him to the house of Cornelius. In chapter 13, we read of the Believers, “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” (verse 2). They worshipped and prayed to The Lord, and it was The Holy Spirit Who responded, and commissioned them to do His work. Only God Himself could do this. The use of “Lord” here is YHWH in the Old Testament. Elsewhere in his Letters, Paul says that he was sent by God, clearly showing the Deity and Personality of the Holy Spirit. In chapter 16, we read that Paul and those with him, were, “forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia” (verse 6). In the text verse we read, “they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them”. In verse 10 we read that they went to “Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them”. Here again, God is used for the Holy Spirit, Who forbids and sends at His will. Very clear teaching that the Holy Spirit is Almighty God, cannot be a mere “power” or “creature”, as some blasphemously teach.

    The Holy Spirit is a Distinct Person from the Father and Jesus Christ:

    In chapter 1, verses 1 and 2, we read: “Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit”. Here Jesus is shown to be a distinct Person to the Holy Spirit, Who gave “commands through the Holy Spirit”. We have the Greek preposition “διὰ”, which means “to act through another”, which cannot be understood as Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit as being one and the same Person.

    In chapter 2, verses 17 and 18, we read: “God declares, that I will pour out of my Spirit on all flesh”. Here “of”, is the Greek preposition is “ἀπὸ”, which means, “away from”, denoting a distinction.

    In verses 32 and 33, we read: “This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing”

    Here Jesus Christ (τὸν Ἰησοῦν), Who is a the Right Hand of God the Father, is said to “receive” from the Father (τοῦ θεοῦ), the Holy Spirit (τοῦ πνεύματος τοῦ ἁγίου), Whom He “pours out” on the Believers. The Three Persons are here very clearly seen as “distinct” from one another.

    The Holy Spirit is Distinct from Being a “Power”:

    In chapter 1 verse 8, we read of the Holy Spirit: “But you shall receive power having come the Holy Spirit upon you” (ἀλλὰ λήμψεσθε δύναμιν ἐπελθόντος τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος ἐφ’ ὑμᾶς). Where it is clear that The Holy Spirit is distinguished from the “power” that He gives.

    As it is in 10:38, “even Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power” (Ἰησοῦν τὸν ἀπὸ Ναζαρέθ, ὡς ἔχρισεν αὐτὸν ὁ Θεὸς Πνεύματι Ἁγίῳ καὶ δυνάμει). The Holy Spirit gives the “power” when He came upon Jesus Christ.

    He is not the “power”, but the One Who give it.

    It is very clear from reading the Book of Acts, where the Holy Spirit is mentioned more than the Father or Jesus Christ, that He is a “Personal Being”, and not simply a “power” from God. It is also clear, that the Holy Spirit is very much Almighty God, as are the Father and Jesus Christ.
     
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  2. kyredneck

    kyredneck Well-Known Member
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    Haven’t read the essay, but glad to see you’re back and feeling better.
     
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  3. SavedByGrace

    SavedByGrace Well-Known Member

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    thanks very much. The Lord is very Good and Merciful. :Biggrin
     
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  4. kyredneck

    kyredneck Well-Known Member
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    Excellent point.
     
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  5. Yeshua1

    Yeshua1 Well-Known Member
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    Yes, as Cults deny that He is God in same way they deny Jesus is God, such as jw and Mormons!
     
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  6. kyredneck

    kyredneck Well-Known Member
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    Actually, He convicted the world, not just any ol' sinner.

    And he, when he [the Comforter] is come, will convict the world in respect of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment Jn 16:8

    20 Jesus answered him, I have spoken openly to the world; I ever taught in synagogues, and in the temple, where all the Jews come together; and in secret spake I nothing. Jn 18:20

    Take note, in all these examples given, of the redundancy of the message from the Comforter to the Jews; YOU KILLED HIM, BUT GOD RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD.

    Acts 2:
    4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance
    14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and spake forth unto them, saying, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and give ear unto my words.
    22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God unto you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by him in the midst of you, even as ye yourselves know;
    23 him, being delivered up by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye by the hand of lawless men did crucify and slay:
    24 whom God raised up, having loosed the pangs of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.
    36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly, that God hath made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom ye crucified.40 And with many other words he testified, and exhorted them, saying, Save yourselves from this crooked generation.

    Acts 3:
    12 And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this man? or why fasten ye your eyes on us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made him to walk?
    13 The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Servant Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied before the face of Pilate, when he had determined to release him.14 But ye denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted unto you,
    15 and killed the Prince of life; whom God raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.
    23 And it shall be, that every soul that shall not hearken to that prophet, shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.

    Acts 4:
    8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders,
    9 if we this day are examined concerning a good deed done to an impotent man, by what means this man is made whole;
    10 be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even in him doth this man stand here before you whole.

    Acts 5:
    27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them,
    28 saying, We strictly charged you not to teach in this name: and behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and intend to bring this man`s blood upon us.
    29 But Peter and the apostles answered and said, We must obey God rather than men.
    30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew, hanging him on a tree.
    31 Him did God exalt with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance to Israel, and remission of sins.
    32 And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God hath given to them that obey him.

    Acts 6:
    8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, wrought great wonders and signs among the people.
    9 But there arose certain of them that were of the synagogue called the synagogue of the Libertines, and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and Asia, disputing with Stephen.
    10 And they were not able to withstand the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spake.
    15 And all that sat in the council, fastening their eyes on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.
    Acts 7:
    51 Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Spirit: as your fathers did, so do ye.
    52 Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? and they killed them that showed before of the coming of the Righteous One; of whom ye have now become betrayers and murderers;
    53 ye who received the law as it was ordained by angels, and kept it not.
    55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,
    56 and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God.

    Acts 10:
    39 And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the country of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom also they slew, hanging him on a tree.
    40 Him God raised up the third day, and gave him to be made manifest,
    41 not to all the people, but unto witnesses that were chosen before of God, even to us, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.
    42 And he charged us to preach unto the people, and to testify that this is he who is ordained of God to be the Judge of the living and the dead.

    Acts 13:
    16 And Paul stood up, and beckoning with the hand said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, hearken:
    27 For they that dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him.
    28 And though they found no cause of death in him, yet asked they of Pilate that he should be slain.
    29 And when they had fulfilled all things that were written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a tomb.
    30 But God raised him from the dead:
    31 and he was seen for many days of them that came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses unto the people.
     
  7. SavedByGrace

    SavedByGrace Well-Known Member

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    Do you mean a slect group as in the elect, when you use world?
     
  8. kyredneck

    kyredneck Well-Known Member
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    I mean it as Christ was using it in John 16:8 and John 18:20, i.e., the old covenant 'arrangement'. The Jews murdered Christ and the Spirit convicted the Jews of that murder through the mouths of His witnesses.

    When Christ commissioned the twelve apostles He foretold them:
    But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to councils, and in their synagogues they will scourge you; yea and before governors and kings shall ye be brought for my sake, for a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, be not anxious how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father that speaketh in you. Mt 10:17-20

    In the Olivet Discourse He foretold them:
    But before all these things, they shall lay their hands on you, and shall persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for my name`s sake. It shall turn out unto you for a testimony. Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate beforehand how to answer: for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to withstand or to gainsay. Lk 21:12-15

    In the Farewell Discourse He foretold them:
    They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the hour cometh, that whosoever killeth you shall think that he offereth service unto God.....And he, when he [the Comforter] is come, will convict the world in respect of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they believe not on me; of righteousness, because I go to the Father, and ye behold me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world hath been judged. Jn 16:2, 8-11
     
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  9. kyredneck

    kyredneck Well-Known Member
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    Pink on John 16:8:

    "...And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment" (John 16:8). There is hardly a sentence in this Gospel which has been more generally misunderstood than the one just quoted. With rare exceptions this verse is understood to refer to the benign activities of the Holy Spirit among those who hear the Gospel. It is supposed to define His work in the conscience prior to conversion. It is regarded as a description of His gracious operations in bringing the sinner to see his need of a Savior. So firmly has this idea taken root in the minds even of the Lord’s people, it is difficult to induce them to study this verse for themselves—study it in the light of what precedes, study it in the light of the amplification which follows, study the terms employed, comparing their usage in other passages. If this be done carefully and dispassionately, we feel confident that many will discover how untenable is the popular view of it.

    It should be very evident that something must be wrong if this verse be interpreted so as to clash with Christ’s explicit statement in John 14:17, "The Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive." What then is the character of the "reproof" that is here spoken of? Is it an evangelical conviction wrought in the heart, or is it something that is altogether external? Almost all the older commentators regarded it as the former. We, with an increasing number of later writers, believe it is the latter. One of the leading lexicons of the twentieth century gives as the meaning of elencho, "to bring in guilty; to put to shame by proving one to be wrong; to convict with a view to condemnation and judgment, but not necessarily to convince; to bring in guilty without any confession or feeling of guilt by the guilty one."...........It is rather refutation by proofs, convicting by unanswerable arguments as an advocate, that is meant.".........."Here the Holy Spirit is not spoken of as dealing with individuals when He regenerates them and they believe, but as bringing conviction to the world because of sin. The Holy Ghost being here, convicts the world, i.e., what is outside where He is. Were there faith, He would be in their midst: but the world doth not believe. Hence Christ is, as everywhere in John, the standard for judging the condition of men" (Mr. W. Kelly)...."
     
  10. kyredneck

    kyredneck Well-Known Member
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    Gill on John 16:8:

    "he will reprove the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment: by "the world" is principally meant, the Jews; the world among whom Christ personally was, who knew him not, disbelieved him, rejected him as the Messiah, hated and persecuted him, even unto death;"
     
  11. SavedByGrace

    SavedByGrace Well-Known Member

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    I am very sure that Jesus has the entire human race in mind, when He says "the world of sin", in John 16:8.
     
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  12. SavedByGrace

    SavedByGrace Well-Known Member

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    Pink and Gill were die hard Calvinists, so we should not expect any different.
     
  13. SavedByGrace

    SavedByGrace Well-Known Member

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    we are getting off topic here
     
  14. kyredneck

    kyredneck Well-Known Member
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    I am very sure that the Spirit did indeed convict the Jews of the murder of Christ.
     
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  15. kyredneck

    kyredneck Well-Known Member
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    ...and Pink had you pegged:

    "...It is regarded as a description of His gracious operations in bringing the sinner to see his need of a Savior. So firmly has this idea taken root in the minds even of the Lord’s people, it is difficult to induce them to study this verse for themselves—study it in the light of what precedes, study it in the light of the amplification which follows, study the terms employed, comparing their usage in other passages...."
     
  16. kyredneck

    kyredneck Well-Known Member
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    K. But this topic was touched upon in the OP.
     
  17. SavedByGrace

    SavedByGrace Well-Known Member

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    how is that?
     
  18. SavedByGrace

    SavedByGrace Well-Known Member

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    sure, in a different context
     
  19. kyredneck

    kyredneck Well-Known Member
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    ??? Reread the post till you get it.
     
  20. SavedByGrace

    SavedByGrace Well-Known Member

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    as I believe that T.U.L.I, is very much unbiblical, there is nothing further I can add here. thanks
     
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