Holy Spirit: Who or What?? no. 2

podcast: https://www.pastorwoman.net/podcast/episode/1e7486de/the-holy-spirit-who-or-what-no2

The sky is one whole, the water another;

    and between those two infinities 

         the soul of man is in loneliness.1

Hmmmm . . . loneliness? Do you know how

many people today are so very lonely? We, the most connected generation on record, are lonely.

Yet God is never lonely. 

He lives in a perfect community, the Trinity. 

Let's think - we have all heard someone finish his prayer, or possibly pronounce his blessing with, 'in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,' right? For some, it is the first acknowledgement that while God is One, he is also three. Wait right there - 'Holy Spirit . . . one of three?' What does that mean? Outside of 'the Church,' who has considered such a possibility, such an entity? And even if we entertain such a concept, it is so very difficult to comprehend.  

While we will never fully grasp the Trinity,

a little understanding is vital to our grasping of God, and

that understanding just might impact our emotional well-being as well. hmmm...

The word "Trinity" comes from the Latin noun "trinitas" meaning "three are one."  The Godhead eternally exists in three persons - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit - - and these three are one God, having precisely the same nature, attributes and perfections, worthy of precisely the same honor, confidence, and obedience. So, Holy Spirit? Definitely a 'who'.

One day I was teaching a large group of women in Dana Point, California and made this statement ''Jesus Christ is the only person born who already existed... ' When it was discussion time, the women began talking around their tables, as I circulated amongst them. Walking past one table, I heard Shannon say:

"I am seriously confused about what she said - Jesus was already alive when he was born? Huh?"

She wasn't wrong. The Trinity, the three persons of the Godhood, is an enigma! Which begs the question, since we saw the Holy Spirit come on the scene in Jerusalem after Jesus' ascension into Heaven, Acts 2, does that mean that is when the Holy Spirit was 'born'?

Let's look at the Bible captures the 'how' and 'when' and the 'us' and 'one' of God:

The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. . . Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." Genesis 1.26-28

Notice: this was before mankind, so 

when God was saying 'us', he was referring to the Trinity.

 "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! Deuteronomy 6:4 

 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying,  "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit Matthew 28:18-19 

Jesus reiterates Moses' teaching in Deuteronomy -

"The first of all the commandments is: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one." Mark 12:29

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:1,14

->John used 'the Word' for Jesus, from the Greek term 'logos' which would have been familiar to his readers-both Greeks and Hebrews. Logos was a description of Jesus being the personification of God to the world. Reread it then replacing Word/Logos with Jesus - In the beginning Jesus already existed ... and further that God created everything through Jesus. Ohhhhh.

And from Paul, our beloved teacher:   The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

2 Corinthians 13:14

All of those verses are illustrative of the trinity, eternal God, three in one.

One current day preacher and thinker penned, "I was raised in some ways to think of God as a proud, almost arrogant being who could get away with his pride because he was God. The doctrine of the Trinity tells me it is not so. God exists as Father, Son, and Spirit in a community of greater humility, servanthood, mutual submission, and delight than you and I can imagine. Three and yet One. Oneness is God's signature." 2  

All of us at times  find ourselves living an isolated existence in a lonely world, and yet, we are meant for life with God, life in his love with one another; we are meant to belong, to be a part of a community, and we have the greatest example of that in the Trinity.  More to come. Holy Spirit: definitely a Who, not a What.

Listen, please: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUpbRTqrmZ0&list=RDZUpbRTqrmZ0&start_radio=1

Christine

1 - Henryk Sienkiewicz, Polish novelist, 1846-1916

2 - "In the Word: The 'Shyness' of God," John Ortberg, http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2001/february5/32.66.html