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According to Proverbs 1:23 (KJV) the holy spirit can?
be "poured out". If it's a person, how can that be?
13 Answers
- Anonymous1 decade agoFavorite Answer
It is because the holy spirit is not a person. There's a variety of scriptures that mention that someone can be 'filled', 'baptize' in, and 'anointed' with the holy spirit. (Luke 1:41; Matthew 3:11; Acts 10:38) None of these expressions would be appropriate if the holy spirit was a person. Jesus also mentioned the holy spirit as a helper, and said this helper would teach,give testimony, speak and listen. (John 14:16,17 26; 15:26; 16:13) It's not rare that the scriptures use personification when talking about something. For example, it says that wisdom have "children". (Luke 7:35) and that death is a king. (Romans 5:14,21) Even though some scriptures says that the holy spirit 'talked', which you may think is because it's a person, other passages let you see that the holy spirit spoke through angels or humans. (Acts 28:25; Matthew 10:19,20)
Therefore, logically we can conclude that the holy spirit is the "Active Force" of God. Not a person, but a strong force god uses to accomplish his will. (Psalm 104:30; 2Peter 1:21; Acts 4:31)
Source(s): http://www.watchtower.org/e/bible/index.htm - 1 decade ago
The Spirit is referred to as a person since it is the essence or power of God. And the pouring out is figurative for dispensing the Spirit freely. In the Old Testament, the Spirit was given to certain people and at certain times so they would have the power to do the things that God wished. Now all believer have the Holy Spirit. The levels can vary which depends on prayer and supplication, and abstaining from sin.
- 1 decade ago
The holy spirit is an "it". It is the spirit of Jehovah. His active force. Note that the holy spirit does not have a name.
Genesis 1:2 (New International Version)
2 Now the earth was [a] formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
Genesis 1:2 (King James Version)
2And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
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- Anonymous1 decade ago
you're a person, and you can be poured out. have you ever loved an ungrateful child or exhausted yourself for a companion only to have them not care in return? Jesus is a person, He was literally poured out. therefore why can't the Spirit of Him?
- 1 decade ago
Jesus said that we should keep on asking persistently for the holy spirit, like a hungry child asking for food. (Luke 11:9, 13) Understanding the nature of the holy spirit will enable us to grasp the key role it can play in our lives. So let us first examine what the Bible teaches us about the holy spirit.
The Scriptures make clear that the holy spirit is a force that God uses to accomplish his will. When the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would have a son even though she was a virgin, the angel told her: “Holy spirit will come upon you, and power of the Most High will overshadow you. For that reason also what is born will be called holy, God’s Son.” (Luke 1:35) According to Gabriel’s words, there is a link between the holy spirit and the “power of the Most High.”
A similar idea appears elsewhere in the Bible. The prophet Micah said: “I myself have become full of power, with the spirit of Jehovah.” (Micah 3:8) Jesus promised his disciples: “You will receive power when the holy spirit arrives upon you.” (Acts 1:8) And the apostle Paul spoke of “the power of holy spirit.”—Romans 15:13, 19.
So, what may we conclude from the foregoing? There is a close connection between the holy spirit and the power of God. The holy spirit is the means by which Jehovah exerts his power. Put simply, the holy spirit is God’s applied power, or his active force. And what a force that is! We cannot comprehend the power needed to create the entire universe. Through the prophet Isaiah, Jehovah suggested that we reflect on the following: “Raise your eyes high up and see. Who has created these things? It is the One who is bringing forth the army of them even by number, all of whom he calls even by name. Due to the abundance of dynamic energy, he also being vigorous in power, not one of them is missing.”—Isaiah 40:26.
ACCORDING to the Trinity doctrine, the holy spirit is the third person of a Godhead, equal to the Father and to the Son. As the book Our Orthodox Christian Faith says: “The Holy Spirit is totally God.”
In the Hebrew Scriptures, the word most frequently used for “spirit” is ru′ach, meaning “breath; wind; spirit.” In the Greek Scriptures, the word is pneu′ma, having a similar meaning. Do these words indicate that the holy spirit is part of a Trinity?
ARE there not, however, Bible verses that speak of the holy spirit in personal terms? Yes, but note what Catholic theologian Edmund Fortman says about this in The Triune God: “Although this spirit is often described in personal terms, it seems quite clear that the sacred writers [of the Hebrew Scriptures] never conceived or presented this spirit as a distinct person.”
In the Scriptures it is not unusual for something to be personified. Wisdom is said to have children. (Luke 7:35) Sin and death are called kings. (Romans 5:14, 21) At Genesis 4:7 The New English Bible (NE) says: “Sin is a demon crouching at the door,” personifying sin as a wicked spirit crouching at Cain’s door. But, of course, sin is not a spirit person; nor does personifying the holy spirit make it a spirit person.
Similarly, at 1 John 5:6-8 (NE) not only the spirit but also “the water, and the blood” are said to be “witnesses.” But water and blood are obviously not persons, and neither is the holy spirit a person.
In harmony with this is the Bible’s general usage of “holy spirit” in an impersonal way, such as paralleling it with water and fire. (Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:8) People are urged to become filled with holy spirit instead of with wine. (Ephesians 5:18) They are spoken of as being filled with holy spirit in the same way they are filled with such qualities as wisdom, faith, and joy. (Acts 6:3; 11:24; 13:52) And at 2 Corinthians 6:6 holy spirit is included among a number of qualities. Such expressions would not be so common if the holy spirit were actually a person.
VARIOUS sources acknowledge that the Bible does not support the idea that the holy spirit is the third person of a Trinity. For example:
The Catholic Encyclopedia: “Nowhere in the Old Testament do we find any clear indication of a Third Person.”
Hence, neither the Jews nor the early Christians viewed the holy spirit as part of a Trinity. That teaching came centuries later. As A Catholic Dictionary notes: “The third Person was asserted at a Council of Alexandria in 362 . . . and finally by the Council of Constantinople of 381”—some three and a half centuries after holy spirit filled the disciples at Pentecost!
No, the holy spirit is not a person and it is not part of a Trinity. The holy spirit is God’s active force that he uses to accomplish his will. It is not equal to God but is always at his disposition and subordinate to him.
Source(s): *** ti p. 20 The Holy Spirit—God’s Active Force *** The Holy Spirit—God’s Active Force - ?Lv 51 decade ago
The word spirit, from a grammatical point, is not countable and therefore does not have any limitations on how it can move. I would read too much into it - the majority of the bible is not meant to be taken literally, but figuratively.
- ?Lv 71 decade ago
Why should anybody believe anything from the Bible? It was written by primitive men who believed that the Earth was flat and covered by a large solid dome called the firmament.
- 1 decade ago
How can a spirit be HUMAN??
The spirit is not a person, where did you get that idea?