Elephants and the Holy Spirit

Once upon a time there was a school for the blind who took their students to the zoo where they would be allowed to touch the animals. Three of the blind girls were allowed to briefly touch an elephant for the first time in their lives. The first girl touched only the tusk. The second girl touched only the ear. The third girl touched only the leg. Afterwards, the first girl exclaimed how elephants were hard and smooth, like a skeleton. The second girl disagreed and insisted that elephants were nearly flat and bendable. The third girl assured them both that elephants are like a tree with rough, dry skin. Determined that they were each correct in their understanding of elephants based on their own experiences, they refused to consider each other’s views.

How do you describe the Holy Spirit? Many describe the Holy Spirit through their own experiences. For some, if an unusual event occurs during the day, the Holy Spirit guided them (e.g., perhaps by avoiding a nearby automobile collision). For others, the Holy Spirit acts as their conscience. He might tell them to eat at a certain restaurant so that others may see God’s light shine through them.

If the Holy Spirit’s identity is formed by our perceptions of His influence on our lives, then understanding who the Holy Spirit is and what His role is in our lives will vary from person to person. We can learn to justify anything we want in His name if this is our belief. For example, I may rebuke a stranger in the name of the Holy Spirit for having an abortion, when the reality is that I am trying to feel better about the fetus I aborted earlier in my own life. Or I can water-down the Holy Spirit’s role in my life to the point where I ascribe my own outcomes to His guidance, conveniently not taking responsibility I make choices that clearly determine my outcomes.

Just as an elephant needs to be seen, heard, touched, ridden, smelled, and studied to appreciate much of its character, the Holy Spirit cannot be limited to one narrow approach. And just as an elephant’s dictionary-definition may be the best place for shared understanding with others, defining the phrase Holy Spirit is a good place to start.

Holy is not part of a title. We may use it as a title to refer to something in particular, but biblically it is an adjective; describing the type of spirit as being sacred. Since God’s Spirit is the only one that is holy, we can know that when the Bible speaks of the Holy Spirit, it is referring to God’s Spirit. Much confusion has occurred between Christians who try desperately to explain the difference between the Holy Spirit and other New Testament references to spirits. They often complicate the matter with preconceptions.

Spirit (Pneuma in Greek) can be understood in two ways.

1. Literal = A current of air (breath or breeze)

2. Figurative = A spirit, soul, ghost, or life

The Spirit is that part of man that God breathed into him to induce life. It is the part of man that departs the body at death and goes on to its eternal destination. Christ’s Spirit is that part within every true believer that sanctifies the individual’s own spirit.

The word Spirit occurs in no chapter of the Bible more frequently than in Romans 8 (NKJV).

1. Spirit of Christ (vs. 1, 4, 5, 9, 13)

2. Spirit of life (vs. 2, 10)

3. Spirit of God (vs. 9, 11, 14)

4. Spirit of bondage (vs. 15)

5. Spirit of adoption (vs. 15)

6. Our spirit (vs. 16)

7. Firstfruits of the Spirit (vs. 23)

8. The Spirit (vs. 16, 26)

9. The mind of the Spirit (vs. 27)

Ironically, Holy Spirit is not mentioned once. The question that people have asked about Romans 8 is, “Which spirits are the Holy Spirit?” To ask this question may signal a misunderstanding of the Holy Spirit’s nature.

What is the Holy Spirit’s nature? The vast majority of Christians will identify the Holy Spirit as one-third of God. He is a distinct but unified person forming the triune God: one member of the trinity. To many, belief in the trinity is a core value of Christian faith, even though this doctrine cannot be found anywhere in the Bible. This is not to argue for or against the trinity, but to emphasize that our understanding of the Holy Spirit should be founded on explicit teachings of the Bible and not inferences.

The Holy Spirit does not literally mean a separate being. In context, the Spirit of God / Spirit of Christ can best be understood best as the character of God / Christ. I encourage you to read the Bible and replace spirit with character and see if the passages are easier to understand. Once this unorthodox yet accurate interpretation is applied, the Holy Spirit of the Bible becomes clear. It also illuminates verses that confuse those who dogmatically view the Holy Spirit as a third member of a trinity. For example, Luke states that, “The Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him [Jesus]” (Luke 3:22, NKJV). How could this verse make sense if the Holy Spirit is a person? Was Jesus not already one with the Father, to include His spirit? Was Jesus not the Word and the Word was with God, and was God (John 1:1)? Why would God’s Spirit need to descend upon Jesus if He and His Son are one? After all, Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I AM” (John 8:58, NKJV). Sure the I AM did not become separate with His own spirit at any point. So if God and Jesus were one at the time of Jesus’ baptism, then what descended upon Him? The answer is the powerful character of God that produces fruit. In other words, God empowered His bodily self for His ministry.

This is why the fruit is called of the Spirit. Jesus began His ministry after His baptism and ushered in the kingdom of God. “From that time Jesus began to preach and say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand’” (Matthew 4:17, NASB). His life bore the fruit of which Paul writes, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23 (NASB). He goes on to explain the characteristics that are not of the Spirit, “If we live by the Spirit, let's follow the Spirit as well. Let's not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.” Galatians 5:25-26 (NASB). If living by the Spirit and walking by the Spirit means not living with selfish characteristics, then, logically, living according to the Holy Spirit of God means to live in His character of goodness.

Regarding God’s Holy Spirit as His character has aided me in understanding many verses. However, it has proved most helpful with one in particular. Jesus says, “And anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven” (Luke 12:10, NKJV). I have been taught this means that if someone insults the Holy Spirit (as a person), they will not be forgiven; however, no one has explained to me the reason for this exception to forgiveness. It is a false interpretation. Since the Holy Spirit means the character of God, I now have a corrected understanding of this passage. Speaking against the Son of Man is forgivable. Unbelievers speak out against God and live as His enemies. However, to blaspheme against the Holy Spirit means to counter the character of God in your words, thoughts, and deeds. One who blasphemes the Holy Spirit does not merely deny God but promotes a false view of God. Whereas blaspheming may not be intentionally pursued, it could easily be perpetrated by religious leaders in an attempt to simplify the doctrine of faith to avoid making their congregation think too deeply. Understand, Jesus is not referring to a onetime bad-mouthing of one-third of God, but to a careless promotion of alternate beliefs disguised as Christianity. This is to put on the face of a Christian to the world, but the effect devastates the Gospel message through unbiblical teachings or living. This, I believe is what Christ states is unforgivable. Furthermore, being a false believer earns the Lord’s wrath (cf. Acts 5:1-11; 12:21-23; Rev. 3:15-16).

In addition to this, the trinity doctrine is often supported with the following two scriptures: Matthew 28:19 and 1 John 5:6-8.

1. Jesus said, “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 28:19, NKJV). Although Jesus teaches much of the Father and Son throughout the gospels, this is the only instance we find all three persons in one reference of the ancient texts. But there is nothing in this passage describing the Holy Spirit as anything more than the sacred character into which believers will be baptized. Baptizing them into this new life which bears spiritual fruit is consistent with many other Scriptures (cf. Romans 8:23; Philippians 1:11; James 3:17).

2. John writes, “This is He who came by water and blood-Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one” (1 John 5:6-8, NKJV). This is a critical text to support the trinity; however, the underlined words were added to the text in the 15th Century. No early manuscripts contain these words. The Codex Sinaiticus (written in the 4th century) is more likely to be accurate, reading, “This is he that came through water and blood, Jesus Christ: not in the water only, but in the water and in the blood; and it is the Spirit that testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For they that testify are three, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood, and the three are one.” Furthermore, the context of 1 John 5 is the authentication of the authority of Jesus Christ through three elements: Spirit, water, and blood. The theology of the additional words are neither relevant to the context nor supported anywhere else in Scripture. The worst abuse in these added words is the phrase, “and these three are one.” It is natural for Christians to read this and say, “Well that makes sense because God is a trinity.” However, if those words were not in John’s original writings, then is there a trinity? For answers the search should continue throughout the whole of the Bible.

I accept that practically all Christians disagree with my position. The trinity is unquestionable in most circles. This is unfortunate and unsatisfactory to me. We have a reasonable faith in the God of the Bible and do not need to force meaning into Scripture in order to convince others to believe like us. The Holy Spirit may indeed be one-third of God: a unique but connected member of the Godhead. However, this is not an explicit teaching of Scripture and should, therefore, not be made more significant than what we read. Why is this single perspective even relevant? Just as an elephant is truly known by the whole of its parts, there is so much more we can know about the Holy Spirit from studying the Bible than just hoping that this view is correct.

February 3, 2018