Church in the home Wed.evening the 3/Feb/2010, The Giver and the Gift: A Study of the Holy Spirit

Church in the home Wednesday evening the 3rd February 2010


John Schoenheit Nov. 2009 tape / CD of the month

The Giver and the Gift: A Study of the Holy Spirit

The doctrine of the trinity proposed that the 3rd person of the trinity is called the Holy Spirit. When this happened the real meaning of holy spirit was lost.
How do we get the truth? Some say there are 5000 denominations in the US today. (Nov. 2009) They differ on the interpretation of the scriptures. Jesus did not suffer fools gladly and told people when they were erring wrt the truth.
The question we should be asking ourselves is “What did God mean”? instead of “what do the scriptures mean to me”?

How do we get to the truth? All the verses on a specific subject must agree or concur. If one stands out then it is like a red flag to a bull. These must be evaluated carefully.
Matt 6: 34 says “take therefore no thought”…...some say this means, do not plan for the future. But what about Proverbs 6 – it says learn from the ant, and Proverbs 31 the wise woman planned for the winter with good warm clothes.

God is not the author of confusion… if all the verses in the bible contradict themselves then that’s not so scriptural..

Take the Trinitarian view of the “being” called the Holy Spirit. Luke 1: 35, Matthew 1: 18,
These seem to indicate that a being called the Holy Spirit caused Mary to be pregnant. All other verses say God, or the Father.. so is there another way of examining this?

If Holy Spirit is a separate person then you get problems reading the whole bible.
David prayed that the holy spirit be not taken from him
God says Acts 2: 17 that God will pour out of his spirit. Some translations do say
Anointed; Acts 10, sealed, Ephesians 1: 14, measured, it is described as a liquid, baptized in holy spirit, we drink holy spirit as in 1Corinthians 12:13,

Holy Spirit is referred to as the spirit of God.
I proposed that holy spirit (pneuma hagion) is used 3 ways

As a name for God
As a reference to Gods power in action
As the gift of God

Till 360 AD, (325 AD Council of Nicea, emperor Constantine declared that Jesus Christ was God) most debates centered on Jesus and God and their identity. Holy Spirit was not yet adopted as part of the trinity till 381 AD



The names of God.

There are many names for God, so if God is spirit and if God is holy then why can the term Holy Spirit not be simply God?

See Acts 5:3 and 4 referring to Ananias and Sapphira
a. In verse 4 is states that Ananias lied to the Holy Spirit
b. In verse 5 it states that Ananias lied to God.

God has different names. Any use of the term Holy Spirit can fit into any one of these categories.

Genesis 1:2 states ….the spirit of God, where is God then? Is this another person other than God the creator? No, this is simply a reference to Gods power in action

Theologians freely admit the Trinity was not part of the old testament theology.
The Jewish tradition does never mentions the trinity.

There is a 3rd usage of holy spirit and it is as “the gift”.

Num 11: 17,24,25, show how the spirit that was upon Moses was taken and given to seventy others. To the teaching of Trinitarianism this is a problem, how do you take a part of a person and spread it out over 70 people?

The bible is given to bless us. How can it bless us if we do not understand it?

God is so good and gracious he gives some of the nature (it is holy and it is spirit) of what he is.

These people became spiritually powerful with the nature of God, not with the 3rd person of the trinity.

John 3:6 states that flesh gives birth to flesh and the Spirit gives birth to spirit.

We must be sensitive to the differences in the usage of Spirit (ruach in OT, and pneuma in the NT)
Pneu, is the root word, and refers to a dynamic motion or movement of air. The power of air. An invisible substance, that exercises a force. It is also used of wind, John 3:8.
An immaterial substance that exercises a force.

Names for Jesus Christ are many but “pneuma / spirit” is also used of Jesus but that does not make him God.


There is a gift of Gods nature given before, during and after Pentecost. Both are called holy spirit, but they are not the same thing. God said he magnified his Word above all his name. So we are going to have to exercise some effort to understand the scriptures.

Pneuma is used of angels.
Pneuma is used of demons (8)
Pneuma is also used of general spirits
Pneuma is used of the natural life (soul) of our bodies. The life in our bodies is an invisible force.

People talk about “school spirit” or “team spirit”.

The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. This is a common phrase used in today’s language. It means that though being physically present, we give in mentally too quickly. We show up emotionally but our bodies are not in to it.
2 Cor 7:13 talks about Titus, his spirit has been refreshed by you all. Does the nature of God need to be refreshed? No, but it is our emotions, attitudes, motivation etc that can be refreshed by inspired contacts.

There are so many different ways the word “spirit” is used in the New Testament.

All the usages of Holy Spirit of spirit falls into a number of easy categories (discussed on the tape), which are not the 3rd person of the “trinity”.

Lets look at the gift of god, the holy spirit in the Old Testament.
It was given conditionally and was not in people permanently
God could take it away
It was Gods choice who had it
It was given by measure
It gave spiritual power to the person who had it


Jesus got it when was baptized,
Matt 12:10, V.17 V 18, Jesus got spirit upon.

Today in this age the holy spirit when born within us cannot be removed.

1 Sam 16:14 the spirit of YHWH departed from him- Saul
David writes in Psalm 51:11 don’t take away your spirit from me.

2 Kings 2:9 where Elijah is talking to Elisah – Elisah says “give me a double of your spirit”.
E.W. Bullinger states in his writings that Elisah did exactly double the miracles of Elijah. This is somewhat disputed by J. Schoenheit.

John 3:34 says that God gave not the spirit by measure unto him….Jesus.

When the 70 received the holy spirit as recorded in Numbers, they were spiritually empowered, remember they prophesied immediately.

Every Christian can speak in tongues and prophesy 1Cor 14:5, etc…all have the holy spirit, and that means power.

Joseph interpreted dreams and Pharaoh said who can we find who can do this who has the spirit of God, John the Baptist – no greater was there.

In the Old Testament God said that he would send holy spirit
John 7:37-39 speaks loudly if we listen. “for the Holy Ghost” was not yet given ..Didn’t the OT prophets have it? We have to read carefully.

The NRV new revised version has a good translation… says “there was no spirit” … how can it say that? So it definitely cannot be the 3rd person of the trinity, and what about the Old Testament spirit on certain people….??? We have to read carefully, this is saying that the holy spirit Moses, Joshua, David had, is not the same we have today even though it sounds the same.

After Pentecost, he gave it differently than when God gave it in the Old Testament.

Ephesians 1:13 – calls it “the promised holy spirit”.
Romans 8: 23 the firstfruits.. …if it was the same as in the Old Testament it could not be the referred to as the firstfruits.

Even the old testament prophesied that the holy spirit then would be different in the future in the new testament times when Jesus Christ was glorified, and ascended.

In the Old Testament it was never stated that the spirit would influence that person to live a godly life, but in the New Testament it is in us, it is part of us, and part of our nature, we become holy as well, and it can influence us to godliness.

Ezekiel 36:26 states .. a new heart I will give you, ….a new spirit will I put in you…..

John 14:17 Jesus Christ says of the spirit of truth, .. “he dwelleth with you and shall be in you”.

In the Millenial kingdom it is stated that he who believes on me…, I will pour out my spirit on all flesh,

In the Old Testament God gave the spirit by measure. In Joel it says the spirit will be poured out, i.e. not measured out, refers to a limitless supply.

In the OT God gave the spirit conditionally.

Isaiah 59:21 (KJV) In the Old Testament God gave the spirit with conditions, but this verse speaks of the spirit to come….”and it shall not depart” is permanent.

Today and in the millennial kingdom, the spirit will influence men and women to live a godly life

Ezekiel 36:27- “I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes”….the effect of the spirit on the person is clear here.

(see book The Gift of holy spirit- the power to be like Christ, Greaser, Lynn, Schoenheit, has all the documentation)

John 16:13 … When the spirit of truth is come, it will guide you into the all truth..
Galatians 5:17 (see English standard version) ….. THE SPIRIT struggles against your flesh and drives us to holiness.
.

The gift of god is Gods very nature
Peter’s sermon recorded in Acts 2:38 repent and be baptised and you will receive the gift of holy spirit, Gods very nature, and it gives us spiritual power. We can walk with power.

Read the bible and keep in mind the Giver and the gift.
We are spiritually powerful.
When the bible talks about the manifestations get out and do them
The spirit we have is so much greater that that of Moses, so you are a power filled Christian.
Thanks God the giver for his wonderful gift.