Gospel of John [Joh 16:8]. The Doctrine of the HS, part 2. 1Pe 4:12-19; Rom 8:1-4; 1:1-7; 1Jo 2:20.

1. The Holy Spirit is deity and a person.

          a. He bears the names of deity.

          b. He exhibits the attributes of deity.

          c. He accomplishes the works of deity.

 

Man did not invent God's titles. God has revealed His own titles. No man or angel has ever been called upon to select names for God. His names are a fulfillment of infinity and have been only but partially understood by mankind and angels. Unfallen Adam was called upon to name animals, but never God, how much more for fallen mankind?

 

Spirit of Gloryconnotes His glory as being the same as the Father and the Son (1PE 4:14).

 

1PE 4:12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you;

 

1PE 4:13 but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing; so that also at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation.

 

1PE 4:14 If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed [prosperous], because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.

 

[Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament]

But not only is the fact of persecution an indication of a spiritually prosperous life, but also of the fact that the Holy Spirit is resting upon the Christian. The words "rest upon" are the translation of a Greek word used in a manuscript of 103 B.C. as a technical term in agriculture. The writer speaks of a farmer resting his land by sowing light crops upon it. He relieved the land of the necessity of producing heavy crops, and thus gave it an opportunity to recuperate its strength. The word is used in MAT 11:28 where our Lord says, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest," literally, "and I will rest you." Here our Lord causes the sinner who comes to Him to cease from his own efforts at carrying his load of guilt and suffering, taking it upon Himself, allowing the believer in his new life powers to function as a child of God. In our First Peter passage, the Holy Spirit rests and refreshes the believer in the sense that He takes over the saint's battle with sin and the heretofore futile effort at living a life pleasing to God, by giving him victory over the evil nature whose power was broken the moment God saved him, and by producing in his life His own fruit. The Spirit of the Glory, even the Spirit of God, is resting with refreshing power upon the child of God, causing him to live a life which pleases God and toward which the world hurls its venom and hate.

 

1PE 4:15 By no means let any of you suffer as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler;

 

1PE 4:16 but if anyone suffers as a Christian [derogatory name and persecuted in the Roman Empire], let him not feel ashamed, but in that name let him glorify God.

 

1PE 4:17 For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

 

After the cross and the resurrection and ascension judgment looms for the unbeliever but the birth pangs of judgment are not from God but from Satan and the world against the Church in the form of persecution. Now that Christ and His cross are a historical reality, the opposition retaliates. The gospel is a two edged sword. It delivers some and condemns others. Those who are condemned retaliate against the ones who carry the gospel message, not carnal believers, but those who walk in their calling. However, the retaliation of those who persecute the house of God is in vain since their real judgment looms as a darkening cloud that is ready to downpour God's judgment upon them.

 

1PE 4:18 And if it is with difficulty that the righteous is saved [delivered], what will become of the godless man and the sinner?

 

As we have recently seen, persecution has a purpose in opening our eyes to foundational truths and an increased faith in them. This difficulty in our lives is transforming our hearts through God the HS and God's word. If we need persecution as saints how much more severe will be the wrath of God upon the unbeliever in judgment?

 

1PE 4:19 Therefore, let those also who suffer according to the will of God entrust [banking term - deposit] their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.

 

Spirit of Lifeaffirms the eternal life of the Spirit (ROM 8:2).

 

ROM 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

 

ROM 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

 

ROM 8:3 For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,

 

ROM 8:4 in order that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

 

Three titles affirm the holiness of the Spirit:

 

Spirit of Holiness(ROM 1:4), a possible reference to the holy human spirit of Christ.

 

ROM 1:1 Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,

 

ROM 1:2 which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures,

 

ROM 1:3 concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh,

 

ROM 1:4 who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord,

 

ROM 1:5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles, for His name's sake,

 

ROM 1:6 among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;

 

ROM 1:7 to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Holy Spirit(PSA 51:11; MAT 1:20; LUK 11:13), the most formal title of the Spirit and most frequently used.

 

Holy One(1JO 2:20).

 

1JO 2:18 Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have arisen; from this we know that it is the last hour.

 

Each successive age has had some signs of "the last time" which precedes Christ's coming, in order to keep the Church in continual waiting for the Lord.

 

1JO 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, in order that it might be shown that they all are not of us.

 

People go to church for all kinds of wrong reasons, including unbelievers. Problems that produce pressure in the local assembly causes people to leave for various reasons.

 

1CO 11:19

For there must also be factions among you, in order that those who are approved [judged to be genuine] may have become evident among you.

 

In 1JO 2:19 the ones who left were the Gnostics who believed false doctrines about the person of Christ. Not everyone who poses as a Christian is a believer in Christ as their Savior.

 

1JO 2:20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know.

 

1JO 2:21 I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth.

 

1JO 2:22 Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.

 

1JO 2:23 Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also.

 

Five of the titles of the Holy Spirit refer to some extent to Him as the author of revelation and wisdom:

 

Spirit of Wisdom(EXO 28:3; Eph 1: 17).

 

EPH 1:15 For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you, and your love for all the saints,

 

EPH 1:16 do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers;

 

EPH 1:17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.

 

There is not a definite article in the Greek. doe [may give] humin [to you] pneuma [spirit]; So is this a human spirit or G/HS?

 

[Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament]

Paul prays that God might give the spirit of wisdom and revelation to the Ephesians. Are we to understand the word "spirit" which here is without the article, to refer to the human spirit or the Holy Spirit? The Ephesian saints had both. How could God give them something they already had? Vincent and Expositors say that it is the Holy Spirit to which reference is made. Alford says: "Certainly it would not be right to take pneuma (spirit) here as solely the Holy Spirit, nor as solely the spirit of man: rather as a complex idea, of the spirit of man indwelt by the Spirit of God that as such, it is His special gift of wisdom (not, which gives wisdom, but which possesses it as its character — to which appertains wisdom) and of revelation (i.e., that revelation which belongs to all Christians)."