As these quotations indicate, the “Jehovah’s Witnesses” consider the Holy Spirit to be God’s invisible, active force. The Spirit is, first and foremost, God’s personal presence. Here’s another puzzle for someone who believes the Spirit is a person. He is not impersonal or unthinking. Learn more about the importance of the Holy Spirit in Christianity. I was inspired and intrigued by his proposition and tempered conclusion, as it may provide a fruitful way for understanding a theology of nature without the idolatry of natural revelation. Emotions2. The Holy spirit is God's power in action, his active force. It is not a person but is a powerful force that God causes to emanate from himself to accomplish his holy will ( Reasoning from the Scriptures 1985, 81). Is the Holy Spirit a person or the power of God? ~ IF The Holy Spirit is just a force, then I (& any truth-seeker) would be compelled by intellectual honesty & integrity, to abandon belief in the Trinity & become a JW !!! This page is also available in: हिन्दी (Hindi) When we study the ministry of the Holy Spirit, we can see that He has all the credentials of a separate and distinct, intelligent, individual being and not just a force.. Let’s review His ministry: 1-The Holy Spirit leads and guides “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13). Holy Spirit, in Christian belief, the third person of the Trinity. Intellect3. WOW !!! It is a power, a force that emanates from Them. Holy Spirit: Much More that an Ethereal Life Force The Holy Spirit is not a vague, ethereal life force. John W. Ritenbaugh The Holy Spirit We are not the ones necessarily that conquer sin; God the Holy Spirit is the power that dwells in us to help us do this. (Micah 3:8; Luke 1:35) God send out his spirit by projecting his energy to any place to accomplish his will.-Psalm 104:30; 139:7. Will4. The JW actively believes that the Holy Spirit is a force, and not a person. ~ IF The Holy Spirit is just a force… In this way, the Holy Spirit is the presence of Jesus in our lives. The Holy Spirit also came to give us power. A force can’t be grieved. The holy spirit is God’s active force that he uses to accomplish his will. The Holy Spirit can speak (Acts 8:29, 11:12, 13:2)—though some people don’t think the Holy Spirit can speak because they think of the Holy Spirit as an impersonal force, or simply a presence. An impersonal force or unifying energy does not have a distinct will, but a person certainly does. The whole episode of Acts 2…now, pretty much all of the book of Acts speaks of what happens when the Holy Spirit empowers human beings to do God’s work. Obviously the Bible makes the Holy Spirit equal to God. JUDE 1:20 (KJV) .” It is also clear that the Holy Spirit is the Holy Spirit of God (1 Thessalonians 4:8; Isaiah 63:10–11). For instance, a Jehovah’s Witness might say something like this: “The holy spirit … 3) The Holy Spirit has a will. As mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles, outpourings of the Holy Spirit can include healing, prophecy, exorcism, and speaking in tongues. The main evidence presented as "proof" that the Spirit is more than just a divine power or force is the use of masculine pronouns found primarily in John's gospel. But he gives no place for the Holy Spirit, and this is because the Holy Spirit is a thing, not a personality. In conclusion, Wolfhart Pannenberg shows proper humility and admits that his theory is precisely a theory, and awaits further verification. Furthermore, throughout the Bible, the Holy Spirit exhibits the characteristics of a Person, not an inanimate force. But Christians also believe the Holy Spirit can live within us, filling our hearts and minds with freedom, joy, purpose, and grace. 14:17. 4/1/1994. 5 The Holy Spirit Speaks "...and the Spirit said to Philip" (Acts 8:29) So sometimes the Holy Spirit is like the mysterious but powerful wind; sometimes he is like a personal helper, partner, or advocate beside us. The Holy Spirit speaks to the people of God, and encourages us to hear His voice (Hebrews 3:7). A person always has the following attributes:1. The Holy Spirit is God. Is the Holy Spirit the Cosmic Force Field? The Holy Spirit is part of God’s deity and it has a separate person that is why we are also praying to Him. The Holy Spirit chooses which gifts each believer receives. Some view the Holy Spirit as a mystical force. They are not only undermining the Holy Spirit but they are also insulting it. Mary Baker Eddy, founder of “Christian Science,” characterized the third person of … The word spirit (from the Latin spiritus meaning "breath") appears either alone or with other words in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) and the New Testament.Combinations include expressions such as the "Holy Spirit", "Spirit of God", and in Christianity, "Spirit of Christ".. The Holy Spirit is a “person” equal in … We should not confuse the Holy Spirit with the way He might make us feel sometimes, or with the power that He has.The Holy Spirit is God. That would make the Holy Spirit the “father” of Jesus, if the Holy Spirit … Only feebleminded pastors would say that the Holy Spirit is merely an active force, and not God, just like pastors of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Insight p.1019, & Aid p.1543 ~ INSIGHT On The Scriptures (1988) is the updated version of AID To Bible Understanding (1971) WOW !!! This Doctrinal Report concerns the Spirit of God. [Blurb on page 22] “On the whole, the New Testament, like the Old, speaks of the spirit as a divine energy or power. Holy Spirit as Force. The architects of the trinity doctrine admit that it is a 'somewhat unsteady silhouette', requiring assumptions and inferences, but unsupportable by Scripture. One of the topics we discussed while standing on the front porch was the Holy Spirit. Trinity Apologetics 6,709 views. In the Bible, the word "spirit" is translated from the Hebrew word ru'ach and the Greek word pneu'ma. But, when we start on page one of the Bible, before creation ever even began, we see a depiction of the spirit of God hovering over the dark, disordered waters of … The Holy Spirit - A Person or Power? The Holy Spirit —A Force You Need in Your Life “DO NOT throw me away from before your face; and your holy spirit O do not take away from me.” (Psalm 51:11) This was King David’s fervent prayer after he had made a tragic mistake. The Holy Spirit has infinite knowledge and is able to search even the deep things of God. Jehovah’s Witnesses and certain other groups, such the Iglesia ni Cristo, claim that the Holy Spirit is not a Person but merely a force (for example, “the power of God”). I noted in a previous post that, according to a recent study by Lifeway Research, 56 percent of evangelical Christians say the Holy Spirit is a force rather than a person.In that same study, a quarter (28 percent) said the Spirit is a divine being but not equal to God the Father and Jesus. This shows us not only that the Holy Spirit is God (because only one who is God can look into the mind of God) but also that he is a Person. He will begin to deal with the sins in our life and help us overcome them. Answer: There are many misconceptions about the identity of the Holy Spirit. It is an "it," not a "he" or a "she." Download Share. Jesus prayed to the Father , but His mother Mary was pregnant with Him as a result of the Holy Spirit: “She was found with child of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:18). Later while looking into this topic online, I discovered this understanding is widespread * in the Christian faith as well: a poll result found that 59% of Christians see the Holy Spirit as a force. 3 min read. According to Trinitarians, the Holy Spirit is a separate person, distinct from the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit is a person, not a force - Duration: 14:17. Among non-Trinitarian Christians, au contraire, one may hear the view that the Spirit of God is not a third person but an impersonal force, like in Star Wars: “The Force be with you.” Something near this view was expressed in a pre-1994 CoG7 doctrine that read, in part, “The Holy Spirit is an extension of the power of God in the world . (6) The Holy Spirit distributes spiritual gifts ‘to every man severally as he will.’(I Cor.12:11) The phrase ‘he wills’ in Greek means ‘a decision of the will after previous deliberation’. Misrepresented Spirit? . The Holy Spirit and the Trinity (Part One) Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh. “As for the ‘Holy Spirit,’ the so-called ‘third Person of the Trinity,’ we have already seen that it is not a person, but God’s active force (Judges 14:6)” [The Truth That Leads To Eternal Life, p. 24]. Because the names “Holy Ghost” and “God” have been used interchangeably, we conclude that the Holy Ghost is God. . I occasionally write about religion in a broad sense but a friend’s dramatic encounter with the Holy Spirit over a decade ago is worth an airing. God the Holy Spirit brings godly repentance and brings about an awareness of when we are not doing the right thing. An honest, careful, thorough comparison of WT opinion with Scriptural evidence, shows there is no need to accept WT conclusions. David had long experienced the power of the holy spirit. The word spirit is rendered as רוּחַ (ruach) in Hebrew-language parts of the Old Testament. It is not equal to God but is always at his disposition and subordinate to him. The Spirit is a person and not merely a force. Question: "Who is the Holy Spirit?" He performs personal acts. A he or an it? the holy spirit is the active force of God. In its opening words, the Bible speaks of the holy spirit —also rendered “God’s active force”— as “moving to and fro over the surface of the waters.” ( Genesis 1:2 ) In the account of Jesus’ baptism, while God is described as being in “the heavens,” the holy spirit appears “descending like a dove” upon Jesus. Etymology. by Ernest L. Martin, Ph.D., 1991. God's Spirit is that power by which They do whatever it is They want to accomplish in Their purposes. God's HOLY SPIRIT is NOT a PERSON but is God's active FORCE by which he accomplishes his purpose and executes his will." 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