THE HOLY GHOST Part 3

The Mind Of Christ

Read I Corinthians 2:9-16 

81. What is it that enables a man to understand “the things of a man”—that is, what elevates the mind of man above the mind of a beast?

82. If the spirit of a man equates to the mind of man, what then is the Spirit of God?

83. What is it that endows us with the “mind of Christ”?

Note: We believe that the Holy Spirit is personal, because it is an extension of God Himself. It is the way in which God can be omnipresent—that is He can be on His throne and be in us at the same time. He dwells in us by His Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the spiritual presence, activity, power, and influence of God in the natural world.

Read Romans 8:11-28 

84. What is the power Christ will use to raise our mortal bodies at the last day?

85. What is it that determines whether we are sons of God?

86. Is there an interaction between God’s Spirit and our own? What does it do?

87. What is our relationship with God?

88. What is it that we ourselves are groaning for?

89. How does the Spirit make intercession for us?

Note: The Spirit does this by empowering us, by “helping our infirmities.” He does not do this apart from us as a third party intercessor, but through us and through our minds.

90. Who is it that makes intercession for us? (Hebrews 7:25)

91. Who is it that searches the heart?

Note: He that searches the hearts is the same One that makes intercession for us—Christ. He knows “the mind of the spirit” within us.

There is a peculiarity of language that confuses many who study this subject. Take, for example, John 14:16,17. Here, Jesus calls the Holy Spirit “the comforter” and uses the pronoun “(s)he” in connection with it. This leads some to feel that the Holy Spirit is a person, because if it were not, the passage would use the pronoun “it.”

In the Greek language, nouns that would be neuter in English are often masculine or feminine. If the noun is masculine, the pronouns following it must also be masculine. Take the word “rock” for example. In Greek, there are two words for “rock,” one masculine and one feminine. You would speak of the rock as “he” or “she” depending upon which word you use. There is no neuter gendered “rock” in Greek.

But besides all that, the Holy Spirit is not something other than God. (S)He is the power of God, the breath of God. The mind of the Spirit is the mind of God. When the Holy Spirit acts, it is God who is acting.

IN CONCLUSION 

Man’s old idea was of a solitary God. Alone. Aloof. Without peer. Without heir. They thought He was a God who would have said, as James Weldon Johnson put it, “I’m lonely; I’ll make me a world.” He was alone from eternity and would remain alone for eternity. At a festival, He would dine alone.
But then came the Son, and some, still holding to their solitary God, created a Trinity—a God who, though three faceted, was still alone, and who would remain alone. The three sides of the Trinity present a closed Godhead—One that could be adored, but never joined. At a festival, the three would dine as one—alone. God’s family could never increase.

But when we read the Bible, we find a God who, far from being alone for eternity, seems determined not to be alone at all. He is a Father. He has a Son who is like Him. He intends to have more sons who will be like Him. At festival time, He will be surrounded by family. Scientists tell us the universe has been here for 15 billion years. What has God been doing? Is this the first time He has done this? Will it be the last? God has placed in all His creatures a “reproductive imperative.” Each of His creatures, great and small, must reproduce “after his kind.” It is odd how man, who has the same imperative, and is made in the image of God, misses the point when it comes to what God is doing. God, also, is reproducing after His kind. The Ghost is God. The Holy Ghost was there in the beginning. If the Third Person in the Trinity is a GHOST then God had to die. Who Killed God and why wasn't it documented? Some may still be confused after this study but you find everytime you read about the Holy "Ghost" it has female attibutes. Ponder this...It is IMPOSSIBLE to procreate without the female element.