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| Q26: Study of Inspired messages by Ellen White Does SOP say the HOLY SPIRIT is a "He" ? Let's look first at a single large SOP passage. It is not a conclusive evidence that a man is a Christian because he manifests spiritual ecstasy under extraordinary circumstances. Holiness is not rapture: it is an entire surrender of the will to God; it is living by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God; it is doing the will of our heavenly Father; it is trusting God in trial, in darkness as well as in the light; it is walking by faith and not by sight; it is relying on God with unquestioning confidence, and resting in His love. {AA 51.2} It is not essential for us to be able to define just what the Holy Spirit is. So far this context is about how the Holy Spirit functions in us, with the breath of salvation, we are not able to define how this works in us. This is the mystery of the Holy Spirit, which from this passage SOP terms "surrender". See how SOP deals with "surrender". Christ tells us that the Spirit is the Comforter, "the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father." It is plainly declared regarding the Holy Spirit that, in His work of guiding men into all truth, "He shall not speak of Himself." John 15:26; 16:13. {AA 51.3} The nature of the Holy Spirit is a mystery. Men cannot explain it, because the Lord has not revealed it to them. Men having fanciful views may bring together passages of Scripture and put a human construction on them, but the acceptance of these views will not strengthen the church. Regarding such mysteries, which are too deep for human understanding, silence is golden. {AA 52.1} So nature of the Holy Spirit is a mystery. Men cannot explain it. SOP quotes Scripture passages in the translations they are, without correcting them. Silence is golden because scholarship often squashes the child like faith we all must have. Scripture must remain in the hands of child like readers, not in the hands of scholars. And what is the result of this wonder Jesus does? The meek increase in their joy, from reading Scripture... this is end of time promise...a wonder of Jesus... Here is another of those rare wonders by Jesus, again at the end of time.. There are still many mysteries about the Holy SPirit that are deep, even though our knowledge of the Holy Scriptures shall in crease at the end of time... Notice the SOP context continues: The office of the Holy Spirit is distinctly specified in the words of Christ: "When He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment." John 16:8. It is the Holy Spirit that convicts of sin. If the sinner responds to the quickening influence of the Spirit, he will be brought to repentance and aroused to the importance of obeying the divine requirements. {AA 52.2} To the repentant sinner, hungering and thirsting for righteousness, the Holy Spirit reveals the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. "He shall receive of Mine, and shall show it unto you," Christ said. "He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." John 16:14; 14:26. {AA 52.3} Notice how SOP deals with translation issues with Scripture... first the passages are quoted, but if the "he" was correct, this pronoun should continue in SOP sentences. Such pronouns are NOT used. The SOP uses "it" and "the Holy Spirit" instead. The Spirit is given as a regenerating agency, to make effectual the salvation wrought by the death of our Redeemer. The Spirit is constantly seeking to draw the attention of men to the great offering that was made on the cross of Calvary, to unfold to the world the love of God, and to open to the convicted soul the precious things of the Scriptures. {AA 52.4} Having brought Having brought conviction of sin, and presented before the mind the standard of righteousness, the Holy Spirit withdraws the affections from the things of this earth and fills the soul with a desire for holiness. "He will guide you into all truth" (John 16:13), the Saviour declared. If men are willing to be molded, there will be brought about a sanctification of the whole being. The Spirit will take the things of God and stamp them on the soul. By His power the way of life will be made so plain that none need err therein. {AA 52.5} From the beginning, God has been working by His Holy Spirit through human instrumentalities for the accomplishment of His purpose in behalf of the fallen race. This was manifest in the lives of the patriarchs. To the church in the wilderness also, in the time of Moses, God gave His "good Spirit to instruct them." Nehemiah 9:20. And in the days of the apostles He wrought mightily for His church through the agency of the Holy Spirit. The same power that sustained the patriarchs, that gave Caleb and Joshua faith and courage, and that made the work of the apostolic church effective, has upheld God's faithful children in every succeeding age. It was through the power of the Holy Spirit that during the Dark Ages the Waldensian Christians helped to prepare the way for the Reformation. It was the same power that made successful the efforts of the noble men and women who pioneered the way for the establishment of modern missions and for the translation of the Bible into the languages and dialects of all nations and peoples. {AA 53.1} Now notice SOP introduces it's own mysteries....what is the "Holy Spirit as a regenerating agency" , that is the mystery, not if the Holy Spirit is a 'He' or a 'She'. Also, the whole of the Godhead "Elohiym" is introduced as "God" and coloured in yellow. An agency carries somebodies else's power. The Holy Spirit empowers us with The Father or the Son's power. Notice the statement "His church" not "their church". Why is this ? because we have a single flow of power, not two of three sources of flow, or two or three gods of power, but a single source of power, carried by different agencies. There are two comforters in Scripture, the Holy Spirit and Jesus, who are agencies for His Father's flow of power. Notice carefully how SOP uses the terms...and does not write "he" as referring to the Holy Spirit. However Scripture with poor translations are quoted. And today God is still using His church to make known His purpose in the earth. Today the heralds of the cross are going from city to city, and from land to land, preparing the way for the second advent of Christ. The standard of God's law is being exalted. The Spirit of the Almighty is moving upon men's hearts, and those who respond to its i nfluence become witnesses for God and His truth. In many places consecrated men and women may be seen communicating to others the light that has made plain to them the way of salvation through Christ. And as they continue to let their light shine, as did those who were baptized with the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, they receive more and still more of the Spirit's power. Thus the earth is to be lightened with the glory of God. {AA 53.2} Finally SOP provides a massive clue to who the Holy Spirit is, by the reference the "Spirit of the Almighty" How many of us read SOP and never read the Scriptures where this English comes from ?After all is not SOP a lesser light leading us to the greater light? So where does the term "Spirit of the Almighty" come from ? What is interesting is this exact phrase does not exist in Scripture !!!!!!! Wow... So SOP is already telling us what the Holy Spirit is, if we care to look. Now let's show you the Hebrew, not the poor translation... This is a poetry parallel showing us similes of function. This only spoils our poetry reading if we follow Scholars with their scholarship. The arrows is a simile of poison and a simile of terror. The Shadday is a simile function like the Holy Spirit's administration of our "character" (wind) which is also a simile of the Father's care over us. Do you catch the poetry similes here. It's saying the Shadday and Father are similes of heavenly parents, concerned over the character development in us. Here is a simpler poetry simile...The character wind of man, is administrated by the Shadday. Hence the term of SOP, the "spirit of the Almighty" is referring to the "Holy Spirit of the Shadday". Here is a simpler poetry simile... The Holy Spirit administrates our ongoing breath of life, is a simile of .. The Shadday administrates our on going breath of salvation. There are no other Scripture references to the "Spirit of the Shadday". So who is the "Shadday" ? A member of the Godhead, with femaleness love as a personality. The author cannot find any rationale reason why translators translate "shadday" as "almighty"? See studies of all verses of "Shadday" See other studies, how SOP uses "Shadday". Now let's look at some logical presentations that come from understanding what the Shadday is in English... I know that parents feel the shame of the wrongdoing of a child that has dishonored them very keenly, but does the erring one wound and bruise the heart of the earthly parent any more than we as the children of God bruise our heavenly Parent, who has given us and is still giving us His love, inviting us to return and repent of our sins and iniquities and He will pardon our transgression? {CG 266.1} Notice this SOP here speaks of GOD. In Hebrew the term "GOD" is "Elohiym" and SOP calls this term as the "three great powers of heaven". So if the reference here is a simile of an earthly parent to a heavenly parent, we have a picture of a Family GOD. Few realize the full force of Christ's words in regard to his connection with the Father. They teach man that he should consider himself inseparably bound to his Heavenly Parent, that, whatever position he may occupy, he is responsible to God, who holds all destinies in his hands. {2SP 166.2} Here SOP identifies one the members of the heavenly parent of GOD as the Father. Oh, what amazing love and condescension! The Lord Jesus encourages His believing ones to ask for the Holy Spirit. By presenting the parental tenderness of God, He seeks to encourage faith in the reception of the gift. The heavenly Parent is more willing to give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him than earthly parents are to give good gifts to their children. {YRP 284.2} It is not clear here who the "heavenly parent" is here, Jesus or the Fathe r. But by presenting the Holy Spirit as a gift, we have to be presenting another heavenly parent...otherwise the term "parent" is wrongly used. Then his voice was heard, �Thy Father calls thee, come forth.� And Jesus came forth from the grave with the step of a mighty Conqueror. There was a burst of triumph, for the heavenly family was waiting to receive Him, and the mighty angel, followed by the army of heaven, bowed in adoration before Him as He, the Monarch of heaven, proclaimed over the rent tomb of Joseph, �I am the resurrection and the life.� {CTr 283.4} Here the Father calls forth His Son, the heavenly Family waits to receive Him...who is this family? Obviously it must be the Family of GOD, with logically two parents.. He who is engaged in the work of the gospel ministry must be faithful in his family life. It is as essential that as a father he should improve the talents God has given him for the purpose of making the home a symbol of the heavenly family, as that in the work of the ministry, he should make use of his God-given powers to win souls for the church. 6MR 49. {PaM 88 If the earthly family home is a simile of the heavenly family home, then the earthly family parents are a simile of the heavenly family parents. God calls upon all the sons and daughters of the heavenly family to be fully equipped, so that at any period they can step into the ranks ready for action. The heart made tender and sympathetic by the love of Jesus will find the precious pearls designed for the casket of the Lord Jesus. {1SM 266.1} The heavenly family is composed of earthly redeemed son and daughters...mankind was made a little lower than elohiym...( Ps 8:5 ) God says to his people: "Come out from among them, and be ye separate, . . . and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." What more could we ask? We are members of the heavenly family, children of the heavenly King, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ. At this coming we shall have the crown of life that fadeth not away. {YI, August 25, 1898 par. 7} Finally this SOP matches the heavenly family simile to BOTH members of within the Godhead as heavenly parents. All we have to do is write the Hebrew back to show you. God says to his people: "Come out from among them, and be ye separate, . . . and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Father-YHWH SHADDAY." What more could we ask? We are members of the heavenly family, children of the heavenly King, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ. At this coming we shall have the crown of life that fadeth not away. {YI, August 25, 1898 par. 7} This is the ONLY place in Scripture where we see "Lord Almighty" as a construct of two nouns together. Some Church scholars say this construct refers to GOD as a whole, and they are right, it does...but these functional descriptors also refer to individual members of the Godhead.As a single construct the term means "parents" and in the individual terms it means . . Father-YHWH and SHADDAY, the Holy Spirit.. The term "parent" ideally has two Beings. Notice the Scripture word pictures of this heavenly family member is a simile of the earthly family member:- You do NOT get the understanding unless the words are written in Hebrew: And this is a simile of the heavenly family Being: Again without Hebrew words, we lose the understanding of the simile.. And who is the Holy Spirit who empowers "chayah" ? It is the Shadday. And who is the Shadday? It is the third co-eternal member of the Godhead, who is a simile of a woman, just as Eve (chayah) is the mother of all living (chayah). The next wepage considers the term 'Almighty'.. |
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