****
“There’s
a big controversy going on today about Artificial Intelligence and talking
about robotics and singularity and so forth, and the one thing that sets that
computer, that robot, apart from you and me is the ability to have a
functional will," explains Preacher Richard Jordan.
"They can have knowledge, they can learn how to interact with
other people, but that issue of will is a personality issue. God the Holy Spirit
is a person; He has a will that He exercises.
“When
the Bible talks about the Holy Spirit, it uses terms and descriptions that
describe the personality; a person, not an influence. Not some power that
emanates from God, but a person who IS God.
*****
“Paul
says in Ephesians 4:30, ‘And grieve not the holy
Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.’ That’s
an emotional response of a personality.
“Having
knowledge is a characteristic of a person. I Corinthians 2:9-11 says, [9] But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard,
neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared
for them that love him.
[10] But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
[11] For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
[10] But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
[11] For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
“Romans
8:27 talks about the mind of the Spirit: [27] And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind
of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the
will of God.
“God
exercises a will that comes out of a thinking process that makes choices in
relationship to what goes on. He searches and that’s the action of a person.
“Galatians
4:6 says, ‘And because ye are sons, God hath sent
forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.’
"The Spirit of God cries; He speaks. Acts 13:2 says, [2] As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.
"The Spirit of God cries; He speaks. Acts 13:2 says, [2] As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.
“The
verse says He talks; He speaks. That’s describing a living, breathing
real person!
“Romans
8:16 says, ‘The Spirit itself beareth witness with
our spirit, that we are the children of God.’ He can testify. Romans
8:26 says He intercedes for us. These are all things that happen when you’re a
person.
*****
*****
"Jesus, in John
15:26-27, says, [26] But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you
from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he
shall testify of me:
[27] And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.
[27] And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.
“The
Comforter is the Holy Spirit. Notice there’s God the Father, God the Son and
then the Holy Spirit all in one verse. That’s the godhead; that’s the
tri-unity.
“I
John 5:6-7 says, [6] This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ;
not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth
witness, because the Spirit is truth.
[7] For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
[7] For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
“That
verse tells you the godhead is made up of God the Father, the Word and the Holy
Ghost. They’re
one; they’re all three God.
“By
the way, prior to the incarnation, to the Creation, the name of the second
person of the godhead was the Word. You see that’s a capital ‘w.’ That’s His
name.
"John
1:1 says, [1] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
“If
the Word was God, He’s God. If He’s with god, that means they are separate but
they’re both God. We’re in room here with skaddles of people; we’re all equally
human but we're also distinct and individual persons.
“If
you can understand that, you can understand the godhead. In the godhead there
are three distinct, individual people who all share equally the essence of
deity, like we all share the essence of humanity.
*****
*****
“By
the way, you see that expression the Holy Ghost? That title is only found about
a dozen times. Only one time is Holy Spirit a name. In Ephesians 4, when it
says that ‘holy Spirit of God,’ the word holy is not capitalized. That’s an
adjective, not a proper noun. That’s a description of the function, not his
name. Now, His name is the Holy Ghost.
“In
Luke 11:13 (‘If ye then, being evil, know how to give
good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give
the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?’) That’s the only place
that says Holy Spirit with both in caps. All the other times the word ‘holy’ is
not capitalized and it’s not describing His name, it’s describing His function.
“If
you take the word God and the word host and you contract it, you get the word ‘ghost.’
It’s describing the Spirit as a person. We think about Casper the Ghost,
throwing a sheet over a person for Halloween, but the idea is there’s a person
under that sheet and the term ghost is describing not a spook, not a spirit
that runs it--it’s talking about a person.
"Here is a person who contains all that it is to be God. He’s a Spirit. God is a Spirit.
"Here is a person who contains all that it is to be God. He’s a Spirit. God is a Spirit.
“He’s
how God the Father and God the Son work in their creation. When you go through
your Bible and look at where it talks about Him being a Spirit, the Spirit of
life, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of truth, that is consistently a reference to
the function, the working; what He’s doing.
“These
are not just titles thrown out and used indiscriminately; they all
refer to different activities and different functions that the Spirit of God is
working in our lives.
“That’s
why it’s important in Ephesians to see that when he says holy Spirit, He’s the
Spirit designed to produce holiness. He’s the spirit designed to produce the
life of Christ you’re set apart to in your salvation. His function is to
produce that life.
*****
*****
"I
John 5:1 says, [1] Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of
God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten
of him.
"Jesus, in the Upper Room talking to His apostles. says in John 16, [12] I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear
them now.
[13] Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
[13] Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
“That
capital ‘s’; that’s Him. Now He’s the Spirit of truth. He’s going to be the one
to communicate truth to you. When He comes, He’s not going to be talking about
Himself; ‘He’s going to be talking about me,’ Christ says.
“When
you hear people sing, ‘Sweet Holy Spirit come,’ He didn’t inspire that kind of
singing. He inspires, ‘Come Lord Jesus,’ and, ‘Worthy is the lamb.’ That’s His
focus, so it isn’t that we are omitting Him when the focus is on the Father and
the Son. What we’re doing is demonstrating His thinking; His activity. We’re
honoring His work and His function.
*****
*****
“When
you study Scripture, one the great titles you learn from God is ‘Jehovah.’ It’s
in Bible with the word ‘Lord.’ Jehovah can refer to God the Father, God the Son
and God the Holy Spirit.
“There’s
a verse where the Holy Spirit is called God. Acts 5:3-5 says, [3] But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart
to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
[4] Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
[5] And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.
[4] Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
[5] And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.
"Exodus
16:7 says, [7] And in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the
LORD; for that he heareth your murmurings against the LORD: and what are we,
that ye murmur against us?
“This
is Moses chiding Israel for their murmuring about wanting something to eat and
drink. He says, ‘For he hath heard your murmurings.’
“They
murmured against Jehovah. Hebrews 3:7 says, ‘Wherefore
(as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice.’
“This
time when He speaks, He actually writes it down. I mean, He’s a person. Who’s
the me? The Holy Ghost.
“Who
did Exodus tell you they were tempting and proving? Jehovah. Who does Hebrews
say they were tempting? The Holy Spirit. Which was it? It was both. Why?
Because they both share the same title.
“In
Isaiah 53, it says, ‘All we like sheep have gone
astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him
the iniquity of us all.’ Jehovah laid upon the Lord Jesus Christ
our iniquity.
“In
Zechariah 12:10, Jehovah says that ‘when I come back, they’re going to look
upon me, Jehovah, whom they pierced.’ Who’s that? That’s the Lord Jesus.
“Jehovah
God the Father placed upon Jehovah God the Son our sins. They pierced Him and
Jehovah God the Spirit. So that title, that name . . . my point to you is that
the Spirit of God is God. He’s eternal. Hebrews 9:14 talks about ‘who through
the eternal Spirit.’ If you’re eternal you have to be God because you’re
outside of time, outside of creation.
“Psalm
139: 6-7 says, [6] Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I
cannot attain unto it.
[7] Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
[7] Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
“Where
can I go to get away from you, Lord? Nowhere. Why? Because He’s everywhere. See
what He says in verse 7? Who’s everywhere? God the Father, God the Son and God
the Holy Spirit.
*****
*****
“Genesis
2:7 tells us, [7] And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
“Job
33:4 says, [4] The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the
Almighty hath given me life.
“You
know what God breathed into his nostrils? God the Holy Spirit gave life to
Adam. He’s the life giver. He’s the author of this Book. ‘Holy men of old spake
as they were moved by God.’
“Paul
says in Acts 28, ‘spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the
prophet unto our fathers.’ Peter says in Acts 1, ‘As the Holy Ghost
spoke by David in the psalm.’ Jesus says in Mark 12, ‘As the Holy Ghost wrote.’
Who wrote the Book? The Holy Spirit. Paul says all Scripture is given by
inspiration of who? God. You follow that? The Holy Spirit is the third person
of the godhead.
“You
hear people talk about the new birth. It’s a fascinating thing to me, you hear
people talk about the new birth and my first question is, ‘What is the new
birth?’ You never find anybody that knows. They’ll tell you how to get saved or
something.
“Jesus,
talking to Nicodemus in John 3:6 says, [6] That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is
born of the Spirit is spirit.
“Who
is it that gives you everlasting life? Who is it that ‘begats’ you into the
family of God? Paul says were the born ones of God. He says, ‘By the gospel I
have begotten you.’ Who is it that does that? God the Holy Spirit is the one
who gives you life.
“John
6:63 is a verse you need to commit to memory. It says, [63] It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth
nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
“You
get that? Your flesh is not where the profit is; it’s the Spirit that gives
life. How does He do it? ‘The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and
they are life.’
“You
see, the Spirit of God is God. That’s why Jesus would talk about people being
baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Spirit. That’s why you find
those three put together over and over and over in the Bible. Separate persons
but equal in their nature and in their ability to have a relationship with
creation.
*****
“Paul
uses a lot of different titles for the Holy Spirit designed to demonstrate His
function, His working.
“I
Corinthians 3:16 says, ‘Know ye not that ye are the
temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?’ He’s
the spirit of God and He dwells. Chapter 6:19 says, [19] What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy
Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
In one
place it says you’re ‘the temple of the Spirit of God.’ God Himself is going to
come and function and work in you. He’s going to find a dwelling place; a
working place. But in chapter 6 he says, ‘Your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost.’
“You
have the personal presence and the personal relationship with the one who has
set you apart in the Lord Jesus Christ and He’s the one who is the transforming
agent who’s to bring about the transformation. He’s the one by whom you can
glorify God in your Spirit and in your body. It comes from a personal
relationship with Him.
“II
Corinthians 3:3 says, [3] Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle
of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the
living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.
“Notice
it’s written by the Spirit of the living God. That’s God able to live in you, in
the circumstances of your life, in the decisions, in the uprisings and the downfalls,
in the traumas and the blessings.
“In
everything in your life, He’s there living, functioning in your life. He is
there as a part of your life. In fact, He is your life! He’s the living God.
That’s how He writes Christ into your heart.”
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