A Word From Zak

The Holy Spirit is the third person in the Trinity. He is fully God. He is eternal, omniscient, and omnipresent, has a will, and can speak. He is alive. He is a person. He is not particularly visible in the Bible because His ministry is to bear witness of Jesus (John 5:26).

Some cults say that the Holy Spirit is nothing more than a force. This is false. If the Holy Spirit were merely a force, then He could not speak (Acts 13:2); He could not be grieved (Eph. 4:30); and He would not have a will (1 Cor. 12:11). The truth is that the Holy Spirit is a person the same as the Father and the Son are within the trinity.

It is not merely a promise that Christ should be of his seed, (Abraham) for the Apostle affirms in Gal. 3:16, 19 that the promise was made to Christ through Abraham. "Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He said not, And to seeds as of many, but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. Wherefore then serves the law? It was added because of transgression, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator." And in the text it is said, "that the blessing might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ." This blessing then promised was not only Christ himself, but some promise to Christ, and through Christ to all the nations of the earth will be blessed.

The text informs us that this blessing promised to Abraham, and to his seed, and through Christ his seed, to all the nations of the earth, is the Holy Spirit. And by a careful examination of the scriptures, it will be found that the promises are one unbroken chain from Abraham to Christ, and even to the time when the canon of the scripture was complete, everywhere pointing out this particular blessing. But in most instances the prophets have spoken without a figure and promised the Spirit by name. Isa. 32:15, "Until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest."--And 44:3, "For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my Spirit upon your seed, and my blessing upon your offspring;" and 59:21, "As for me, this is my covenant with them, said the Lord; My Spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, said the Lord, from henceforth and for ever." Jer. 31:33, "But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, said the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people." and 32:40, "And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me." Ezek.11:19, "And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh;" and 36:27, "And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them;" the Bible says "That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." Acts 1:4, 5, "And being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, said he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." John 7:38,39, "He that believes on me, as the scripture says, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this speak he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)" And 16:7, 13: "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him (Holy Spirit) unto you." "However 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 show you things to come." and 14:16, 17: "And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it sees him not, neither know him: but ye know him; for he dwells with you, and shall be in you." A careful examination of these passages will show what the great blessing under the eye of inspiration was. The great thing promised to Abraham as affirmed in the blessings and in these passages, which I have now quoted, with numerous other passages that might be quoted; demonstrates that the great thing promised was the Holy Spirit. This was the spiritual blessing that belonged to all nations, including the Jews and Gentiles. In Eph. 1:13, the Holy Spirit is expressly called the "Holy Spirit of promise."

The Holy Spirit is Life, Love and Power at the service of all His peoples and all His creation. The gift of the Pentecost vision is for all who seek to achieve it with the help of God's grace. "... They ...said to Peter and the apostles, 'What must we do, brothers?' 'You must repent,' Peter answered 'and every one of you must be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise that was made is for you and your children, and for all those who are far away, for all those whom the Lord our God will call to Himself.' He spoke to them for a long time using many arguments, and he urged them, 'Save yourselves from this perverse generation'. They were convinced by his arguments, and they accepted what he said and were baptized. That very day about 3,000 were added to their number." (Acts 2:37-41). Discover your seven-fold gift and power through the Holy Spirit's influence in your life: wisdom, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, understanding, piety and fear of the Lord. And find out about the extraordinary charisma which the Holy Spirit gives to many to build up His Church: healings, gift of tongues, miracle-working, the founding of communities, discernment of spirits, Faith, prophesy. All things are possible in the power of the Holy Spirit.