Friday February 21, 2014

Read Luke 12:8-10, Matt 12:32

Remember the person at your door yesterday, who didn’t believe in Jesus’ deity? It turns out that she doesn’t believe in the deity of the Holy Spirit either!

There is a wide spread belief that the Holy Spirit is not a person of the Godhead but rather is simple the force or power of God much like electricity. The central claim is that the Spirit is not God but is the power of God to achieve the purposes of God.

Again we have to ask, Can you be a genuine Christian and not believe in the deity of the Holy Spirit?

In Luke 12 as Jesus spoke against the Pharisees He made a startling claim. He claimed that anyone who speaks against the Son of Man (ie Jesus Himself) will be forgiven if they repent and seek forgiveness. Then He said, ‘...but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.’ If the Holy Spirit were simply the power or force of God, this statement is absolutely ridiculous! Can you sin against electricity? Would you be guilty of sin if you kicked a power point in your house? What if you called that power point horrible names? Would you be guilty of sinning against it? Only if the Holy Spirit is God could you be eternally guilty for blaspheming against Him. Anything else is ludicrous!

Added to this, the New Testament consistently puts the Holy Spirit on par with God the Father and God the Son. In Matthew 28:19 we read,

 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

What is significant is that the word ‘name’ is singular but we have three names - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. If the Father and Son are divine, we can expect that the Spirit fits into this formula as well.

We find a similar pattern in 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 where each person of the Godhead has a role in a person’s salvation. In 1 Peter 1:2 we see this repeated again. In 2 Corinthians 13:14 Paul applies the benediction mentioning the grace of Christ Jesus, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit in one group. The Holy Spirit is constantly linked to God the Father and God the Son concluding that He is God the Holy Spirit.

Can a person be a Christian and constantly resist the Holy Spirit? The testimony of the Scriptures is that an unyielding rejection of the Holy Spirit is an unforgivable sin leading to eternal damnation.

Prayer: Write down your prayer points in the space provided. Use today’s reading to help you get ideas.

Adoration:

Confession:

Thanks:

Supplication:

ª God promises in 1 Cor 12:7 that each believer has a manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. Pray that God would pour out His Spirit and bring that manifestation to bear in the lives of your fellow believers. Pray that each person would know their gifting and use it for the common good.

· Pray that each believer would be Spirit-filled and Spirit-led so that they can worship God at work, at home, at school/uni etc. Pray that God would be greatly glorified through this worship and that many would come to faith in Christ through it.

 Walk Moment –  The Godhead exists in perfect unity and agreement. The Father loves the Son and the Son obeys the Father. The Spirit reveals Father and Son to us! That perfection of relationship and harmony is a model for our human relationships. Marriage, family and friendship can all be modelled on the perfect relationship seen within the Trinity!  

 Discussion Questions For Families and Groups

1. Can you prove the deity of Jesus from the Scriptures?

2. Can you refute the claim that Jesus was the first created being of God and through Jesus all subsequent things were created?