HOLY SPIRIT CLASS l "What Happens to the Unrighteous?" l School of the Bible l VidDevoChurch

What Happens to the Unrighteous?

Paul  tells  us  that  "the  unrighteous  will  not  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God"  (I Corinthians 6:9). 

In Galatians 5 the apostle lists for us the works of the flesh and adds, "I  also  told you  in time past,  that  those who  practice  such  things  will not inherit the kingdom of God" (verse 21).

 He says that those who do these  things are unrighteous;  they are not right. And if you do these  things, you're not going to inherit the kingdom of heaven.

In  the book of  Revelation we  are  told  that God will  not  allow  anything  to  enter heaven  that  would  defile  it.  In  Ephesians  5:5,  Paul  tells us  that  "no  fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the

kingdom of Christ and  God." 

And  in Hebrews we  are  exhorted  to  "pursue peace with all men,  and  holiness, without  which  no one will see  the  Lord" (12:14).  

In all  these  verses  the  Holy  Spirit  is  speaking  to  us  about  a  holy  life,  about  a righteous life, about denying the flesh life.

Jesus said to His disciples, "Unless your righteousness exceeds  the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew  5:20).  

What  a  shocker  that  must  have  been  to  the  disciples!  The

scribes and Pharisees were  known  for their righteousness;  they were the  fellows who were always straining at gnats and swallowing camels. 

They were always so careful to demonstrate  their righteousness  before the people, to keep every little jot  and  tittle  of  their  own  interpretation  of  the  law.  

But  inwardly  they  were breaking  the  law  all  the  time.  

So  Jesus  told  His  men  that  "unless  your righteousness exceeds theirs, you're not going to enter the kingdom of heaven."

HOLY SPIRIT CLASS l "The Spirit Convicts of Righteousness" l School of the Bible l VidDevoChurch

The Spirit Convicts of Righteousness

The  second  task  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  world  is  to  reprove  the  world  of righteousness.  The  Spirit  not  only  reproves  the  world  of  sin,  but  also  of righteousness.  

Now,  sin  is  doing  the  wrong  thing;  righteousness  is  doing  the

right thing. 

Sin is missing the mark; righteousness  is hitting the mark.

HOLY SPIRIT CLASS l "Where Do You Stand?" l School of the Bible l VidDevoChurch

Where Do You Stand?

Jesus Himself put it like this: "He who believes in Him [Jesus]  is not condemned; but he who does not believe  is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God" (John 3:18).

This is the issue. 

Do you believe  in God's provision  for your  sin? 
Do you believethat God sent His only begotten Son to bear your sin, to die in your place? 
Have you accepted or rejected  Jesus Christ? 

That's  the only  issue, an individual  issue.

What  is  your  relationship  with  Jesus  Christ?  Did  you  accept  Him  and  the redemption that He purchased, or did you reject it by rejecting Him?

When  you  stand  before  God  at  the  final  judgment,  He  will  ask  you  but  one question:  "What  did  you  do  with My  Son?" 

 It all  comes  down  to  your  personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

The  testimony  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  the  world  is  that  all  of  us  need  to  receive Jesus Christ as Savior and let Him become the Lord of our life. The whole issue is believing  in  Jesus  Christ.  

That  makes  the  difference  in  being  forgiven  or being
condemned. 

It's the only issue.

HOLY SPIRIT CLASS l "Does God Have a Video?" l School of the Bible l VidDevoChurch

Does God Have a Video?

Jesus says the Holy Spirit reproves  the world of sin because  they do not believe in Him. That and that alone is the sin for which a person will be judged. 

No other charges need be brought.

I've often heard  it said that God has a kind of video  in heaven, and one day He will show on a giant screen all your ungodly  thoughts and deeds. 

But Jesus says the Spirit  will  convict  the  world  "of  sin,  because  they  do  not believe  in Me."  

In other words, it boils down to a single issue: What have you done with Jesus? Do you believe in Him for your salvation?

The  very  name  "Jesus"  speaks  of  His  mission.  

The  angel  said  to  Joseph,  "You shall call  His name  Jesus,  for He will  save His people  from  their  sins"  (Matthew 1:21). 

Jesus  is  the  English  transliteration  of  the  Greek word  Iesous,  which  was taken  from  the Hebrew  name  Yeshua, which  is a contraction  of  Yahwehshua,  or "Yahweh is salvation." 

Jesus Himself described His mission  like this: "The Son of
Man has come  to seek and  to save that which was  lost" (Luke 19:10). 

That was His mission,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  testifies  to  the  world  of  this.  He  reproves  the world of sin because it does not believe in Jesus.

In  John  3,  Jesus  told  Nicodemus  that  God  did  not  send  Him  into  the  world  to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He also said that whoever  believed  in Him  was not  condemned,  but whoever  did not  believe in Him was  condemned  already  because  he did not believe  in the only begotten Son of God. 

They are condemned  because  they  refuse  to believe  in Jesus.  

Thus the Holy  Spirit  convicts  people  of  sin because  they  do  not  believe  that  Jesus  is the Son of God sent by the Father to save the world.

The Scripture  testifies,  "He who believes  in  the Son has everlasting  life;  and he who does not believe  the Son  shall not see  life, but  the wrath  of God abides  on him"  (John  3:36).

 At  the end  of John's  life,  the  apostle wrote  that  if we do not
believe, we are making God a liar. By our refusal to believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God who bore the sins of the world, we are blaspheming  the  Holy Spirit.

If we refuse to believe, we call the Spirit a liar, for we reject the record that God gave of His Son (see I John 5:10-12).

This is no light matter. 

As the writer of Hebrews Hebrews warned us: Anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment,  do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has  trampled  the Son of God  underfoot,  counted  the blood of  the  covenant  by  which  he  was  sanctified  a  common  thing,  and  insulted  the Spirit of  grace?  

For  we  know  Him  who  said,  "Vengeance  is  Mine,  I will  repay," says the Lord. And again, "The Lord will judge His people." It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:28-31).

There is only one way to avoid such a horrible sin. The apostle Paul spelled it out when  he  wrote, "If  you  confess  with  your mouth  the  Lord  Jesus and  believe  in your heart  that God has  raised Him  from the dead, you will be saved"  (Romans 10:9).

Of  course,  such  a  confession  must  be  genuine.  A  false  confession  never  saved anyone. There are many who make false confessions about  the Lordship of Jesus Christ. 

In fact, Jesus tells us that one day many will come to Him and say, "Lord, Lord, open to us!" But He will reply, "I do not know you" (Matthew 25:11,12). 

He insisted that "not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven" (Matthew 7:21).

How can you tell  if a confession  is  true or  false? Any  true  confession  that  Jesus Christ  is  Lord  will  be  manifested  by  submission  to  Jesus  Christ  and  to  His Lordship.  

Any  confession  not  followed  by  such  submission  is  false  and  is therefore powerless to save.

HOLY SPIRIT CLASS l "The Spirit Convicts of Sin" l School of the Bible l VidDevoChurch

The Spirit Convicts of Sin

When  we  talk  about  sin,  what  do  we  normally  think  about?  Lying,  stealing, cheating, pornography,  fornication,  and murder all come to mind. 

Often we think of breaking the Ten Commandments. 

And so when the Lord tells us the Spirit will reprove  the world of sin,  we might expect  Him  to say He will  convict  sinners of 
all their cheating and dishonesty and corruption. 

But that is not what Jesus says.

He says, "...of sin, because they do not believe in Me."

HOLY SPIRIT CLASS l "What Does the Holy Spirit Do?" l School of the Bible l VidDevoChurch

PART TWO: What Does the Holy Spirit Do?

3. At Work in the World

Nevertheless I  tell you the  truth. It is to your advantage  that  I go away;  for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come  to you; but if I depart,  I will send Him to  you.  

And  when  He  has  come,  He  will  convict  the  world  of  sin,  and  of righteousness,  and  of  judgment:  of  sin,  because  they  do  not  believe  in  Me;  or righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
- John 16:7-11

Jesus  was  always  full  of  surprises.  

Have  you  noticed  that?  Just  when  His men thought they had Him  figured out, He would  throw them a  curve. Just when His
opponents  thought  they  had  Him  cornered,  He  would  spring  His  own  trap  and leave them drop-jawed and red-faced.

And  just  when  we  think  we  know  what  He's  about  to  say,  He  zigzags  and astonishes us with words we never expected to hear.

The  Master's  teaching  on  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  world  is  like  that.

Jesus  tells  us  that  the  Spirit's  work  is  to  reprove  the  world  of   sin,  of righteousness,  and  of  judgment.  But  in  each  case  we  discover  that  His work  is vastly different from what we would have expected.

HOLY SPIRIT CLASS l "Here to Help" l School of the Bible l VidDevoChurch

Here to Help

The Holy Spirit,  the blessed third Person of the Trinity, is the great gift God has given to you and to me. He has come to be our Comforter, our paracletos.

He is ready to come alongside of you to help you in your Christian walk. He is ready to come alongside of you to guide you in the way of truth. He is ready to come alongside of you to strengthen you.

God, in the Person of the Holy Spirit, has been sent by the Son to indwell you so that you might be empowered to be conformed into the image of Jesus Christ.

Such is  the marvelous  gift  that  God has  freely  bestowed upon  you and me. We will never receive a better gift. 

Other gifts may thrill us, delight us, even astonish us.  

But  no  other  gift  will  ever  supersede  this  gift  -  because  the  gift  is  God Himself.

HOLY SPIRIT CLASS l "God Speaks in the Spirit's Voice" l School of the Bible l VidDevoChurch

God Speaks in the Spirit's Voice

Another line of evidence  that the Holy Spirit  is God may be found  in noting how the  New  Testament  uses  some  Old  Testament  texts.  

Very  often  an  Old Testament  scripture  about  God  is  ascribed  to  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  New Testament, thus making the Holy Spirit and God one.

Consider  Isaiah 6:8,9, which  reads, "Also  I heard  the voice of the  Lord,  saying: 'Whom shall I send, and who will go  for Us?' 

Then I said,  'Here am  I! Send me.'

And He said, 'Go, and tell this people: "Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive."' 

Paul quotes this passage  in Acts 28:25,26, where he says, "The Holy Spirit spoke rightly  through  Isaiah  the prophet  to our

fathers, saying,  'Go  to this people  and  say: Hearing  you will hear, and shall  not understand; and  seeing  you will see,  and not perceive."'  

Here  Paul quite clearly attributes to the Holy Spirit an Old Testament scripture ascribed to God.

In Jeremiah 31:31,32  the prophet  said,  "Behold,  the  days  are  coming,  says  the Lord, when  I  will make  a  new  covenant  with  the  house  of  Israel  and  with  the house of Judah - not according to the covenant that I made with their  fathers in the day that I took them by the hand  to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My

covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord." 

Yet in Hebrews 10:15 the writer says, "The Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had  said before,  'This is the covenant  that  I will make  with them  after those days,  says  the  Lord."'  

The  New  Testament  declares  it  was  the  Holy  Spirit  who

inspired  Jeremiah,  even  though  the  prophet  himself  said  it  was  the  Lord  who

spoke  these  things.  In other words,  the Holy  Spirit  is  the One who  inspired  the writing of the Bible.

That  is why  in  II Timothy  3:16  we read,  'All Scripture  is given  by inspiration  of God," and yet Peter says  in II Peter 1:21, "For prophecy never  came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit."

Notice:  Paul  says  all  Scripture  is  given  by  the  inspiration  of  God,  yet  Peter declares that holy men spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.  

Is there a problem? No, none at all. Why not? Because the Holy Spirit is God.

That  is why Jesus  in Mark 12:36  could say,  "For David himself  said by the Holy Spirit..." And  it is why Peter,  speaking about  a fulfilled  prophecy  of  David,  said, "Which  the Holy Spirit  spoke  before  by  the mouth  of David"  (Acts  1:16). 

When God spoke,  it was  the Holy Spirit  talking.  The Holy Spirit  is God.  He is the third member of the Godhead.

HOLY SPIRIT CLASS l "Works of Deity " l School of the Bible l VidDevoChurch

Works of Deity

Works of deity also are ascribed to the Holy Spirit.
The Scriptures  teach  that  all  three  Persons  of  the  Godhead  were  active  in  the creation.  

In  Genesis  1:1  we  learn,  "In  the  beginning  God  created  the  heavens and  the  earth,"  and  in  verse  2  we  further  learn  that  "the  Spirit  of  God  was hovering  over  the  face  of  the  waters."  
And  in  John  1:3  we  discover  that  Jesus was also  involved:  'All  things were made through Him [Christ], and without Him
nothing was made that was made."

 Paul adds in Colossians 1:16,17: For by  Him  [Jesus]  all  things  were  created  that  are  in  heaven  and  that  are  on earth,  visible  and  invisible,  whether  thrones  or  dominions  or  principalities  or powers. All  things  were  created  through  Him  and  for Him.  And  He  is  before  all things, and in Him all things consist.

In  the  Psalms  we  read  more  about  the  Holy  Spirit's  part  in  creation:  "By  the word  of  the  LORD  the  heavens  were  made,  and  all  the  host  of  them  by  the breath  of His mouth"  (Psalm 33:6).  

The word  breath  in Hebrew  is  ruach, which means  "wind," or  "spirit." 

So  Psalm  33:6  could  very well be translated,  "By  the
word  of  the  Lord  [and  Jesus,  of  course,  is  the  Word  of  the  Lord]  were  the heavens made,  and  all  the  host  of  them  by  the  Spirit  [or  breath,  ruach]  of  His mouth."

HOLY SPIRIT CLASS l "Divine References " l School of the Bible l VidDevoChurch

Divine References

Divine references also are made concerning  the Holy Spirit. For example,  in Acts 5:3,  Peter  first  accuses  Ananias  of  lying  to  the  Holy  Spirit,  then  quickly  adds, "You have not lied to men but to God."

Peter reasons  that if someone has  lied to the Spirit, he has  lied to God. The two are equal; the Spirit is God.

In II Corinthians 3:18, Paul  speaks of our being transformed  from glory  to glory "by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord."  

The  newer  translations  have  more  correctly  and literally  rendered  the  phrase,  "By  the  Lord,  the  Spirit"  (in  Greek,  hupo  kurios pneumatos). 

He means the  Lord is the Spirit, or the Spirit is the Lord. They are
one and the same.

HOLY SPIRIT CLASS l "The Holy Spirit is omnipotent. " l School of the Bible l VidDevoChurch

The Holy Spirit  is omnipotent. 

 When  an angel announced  to Mary  that God  had chosen her as the vessel to bring the Messiah  into the world, she asked how that
could be,  since  she  was  a  virgin. 

 The  angel answered  her,  "The  Holy Spirit will come upon  you,  and  the  power  of  the  Highest  will  overshadow  you;  therefore,
also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:35).

The angel made it clear that the Holy Spirit is the power of the Highest. All three members  of  the  Godhead  worked  together  in  what  has  been  called  "the immaculate conception." And the result was the incarnation of the Son of God.

HOLY SPIRIT CLASS l "The Spirit is omniscient. " l School of the Bible l VidDevoChurch

The Spirit is omniscient. 

Paul tells us in I Corinthians 2:10,11:

But God  has  revealed  them  to  us  through  His Spirit.  For  the Spirit  searches  all things,  yes,  the  deep  things  of  God.  For  what man  knows  the  things  of  a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? 

Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.

The Spirit  knows all things,  even  the deep  things of God. Whatever  God  knows, the  Spirit  knows.  And  since  God  knows  everything,  so  does  the  Spirit.  

He  is omniscient.

HOLY SPIRIT CLASS l "The Holy Spirit is omnipresent." l School of the Bible l VidDevoChurch

The Holy Spirit is omnipresent.

 David asked in Psalm 139:7-10:

Where  can  I go  from  Your Spirit? Or where  can  I  flee  from  Your presence?  If  I ascend  into  heaven,  You  are  there;  if  I  make  my  bed  in  hell,  behold,  You  are there. 

If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell  in the uttermost parts of the sea, even  there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me. 

The Spirit of God is everywhere present. In heaven He is there; in hell He is there; in the  uttermost  parts  of  the  sea  He  is  there.  

We  cannot  flee  from  the  Spirit

because He is everywhere.

HOLY SPIRIT CLASS l "Attributes of Deity" l School of the Bible l VidDevoChurch

Attributes of Deity

Another way  to  see  the deity of  the Spirit  is  to note  the many divine  attributes the Scriptures declare Him to have.
He  is  eternal.  Hebrews  9:14  says,  "How  much  more  shall  the  blood  of  Christ, who through  the  eternal Spirit  offered  Himself  without  spot  to  God,  purge  your conscience  from  dead  works  to  serve  the  living  God?"  

Notice  that  the  blood  of Christ  through  the  eternal  Spirit purges  your  conscience  from  dead  works  to serve the living God. Once more, a reference to the Trinity.

" In the New Testament " l HOLY SPIRIT CLASS l Chuck Smith l Living Water l l Utah VidDevo l VidDevoChurch

In the New Testament

In the New Testament,  of  course,  the  triunity of God  is taught  from Matthew  to Revelation. Matthew  3:16  says,  "When  He had  been baptized,  [Jesus]  came  up immediately  from  the water, and behold,  the heavens were opened  to Him, and He saw  the Spirit of God descending  like a dove and alighting upon  Him."

While Jesus was being baptized and the Spirit of God descended upon Him like a dove, a voice from heaven  said, "This is My beloved Son,  in whom  I am well pleased."

Jesus was baptized,  the Spirit descended, and the Father spoke from heaven. All three members of the Godhead are clearly at work here.

In John  14:16,17,  Jesus  said,  'And  I  will pray  the  Father, and He  will give  you another  Helper,  that  He  may  abide  with  you  forever,  even  the  Spirit  of  truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you  know  Him,  for  He  dwells  with  you  and  will  be  in  you." 

At  the  request  of Jesus, the Holy Spirit was to be sent from God. 

This same promise is repeated in John 14:26:  "But  the  Helper,  the  Holy  Spirit, whom  the  Father  will  send  in My name..." 

Note again, all three members of the Godhead are clearly present.
When Jesus commissioned His disciples to go and teach all nations, He told them to baptize  new  converts  "in  the  name  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son  and  of  the Holy  Spirit"  (Matthew  28:19).  

Notice  that  they  were  to  baptize  these  new disciples  in "the  name"  (singular)  of  the  Father, Son,  and Holy Spirit. Again,  all
three are included.

When  Peter  spoke  in  Acts  10  to  the  group  that  had  gathered  at  the  house  of Cornelius, he declared  "how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power" (verse 38). 

Note once more, all three are mentioned.

In his letter  to the  Ephesians, Paul  said, "There  is one body and one Spirit,  just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one  God  and  Father  of  all,  who  is  above  all,  and  through  all,  and  in  you  all"
(Ephesians  4:4-6).  

Once  more  the  Trinity  is  being  proclaimed:  one  Spirit,  one
Lord, one God. 

One times one times one equals one.

It's  interesting  that  in  passages  such  as  those  just  cited  the Spirit  usually  is mentioned  third,  behind  the  Father  and  the  Son. 

 This  explains  why  He  is commonly  referred  to  as  the  third  Person  of  the  Trinity.  But  in  case  anyone might be  tempted  to think  that  this practice  implies  inferiority,  in  the Ephesians
passage  the  normal  order  is  reversed.  

The  Spirit  is  mentioned  first,  Jesus second, and God the Father third. 

In a similar way, Paul in Romans 15:30  said, "Now I beg you, brethren,  through the Lord Jesus Christ, and through the  love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me  in your prayers  to God  for me." 

Here we see the  three members of the Trinity  once  more,  but  this  time  Jesus  is  mentioned  first,  the  Holy  Spirit  is
second, and the Father is third.

Allow me to give one more example proving that order of mention has nothing to do with superiority  or inferiority.

 In Paul's benediction to Second Corinthians,  the
apostle writes, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen"  (13:14). 

Here he mentions Christ  first,  God  the  Father  second,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  third.  The  order  is irrelevant.

The weight of evidence allows us to say with confidence that  the New Testament teaches one God, manifested  in three coequal Persons. 

The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one, yet are distinct and separate. 

This means  that the Spirit is every bit as divine as the Father and the Son.

" In the Old Testament " l HOLY SPIRIT CLASS l Chuck Smith l Living Water l l Utah VidDevo l VidDevoChurch

In the Old Testament

The triunity of God is not nearly as clear in the Old Testament as it is in the New.
Nevertheless,  in  the  Old  Testament  we  surely  have  indications,  hints,  and
declarations of the three Persons of the Godhead.

The  Holy  Spirit  is mentioned  just  under  80  times  in  the  Old  Testament,  most
often  by  the names  "the  Spirit  of  the  LORD,"  "the  Spirit  of  God,"  or  "the  Holy
Spirit."

The  first mention  of  the Holy  Spirit  by name  comes  in Genesis  1:2:  "The  earth
was without  form, and void; and darkness was on the  face of the deep. And the

Spirit of  God was hovering  over  the  face of  the  waters."  Already by  the  second
verse in the Bible we are introduced to the Holy Spirit.

But there may  be a hint  of  the Spirit's  existence  even  in the  very  first verse  of
the Bible. Genesis 1:1 says, "In the beginning God." The Hebrew word translated
"God"  is Elohim,  a plural  form  (the singular  is EI). It  is interesting  that  the  first
mention of God in the Bible uses a plural rather than a singular form.

Some have sought to explain this plural Elohim by calling it a "plural of majesty"
or  the  "plural  of  emphasis."  But  that  explanation  appears  to  have  no  basis  in
either grammar  or  usage.  Just  a  few  verses  later,  the  Scripture  tells  us,  "Then
God [Elohim]  said,  'Let  Us  [plural  pronoun] make man  in Our  image,  according
to Our  likeness"'  (1:26).

Just  who  was  God  talking  to?

God  said  let  "Us,"  after
"Our" image  and "Our"  likeness. The  plural  pronouns used  here  concerning  God
should effectively wipe out any need for a concept such as "plural of majesty"
Other  equally  intriguing  hints  about  the  Trinity  may  be  found  in  the  Old
Testament.

 I  believe  the  rallying  cry  of  ancient  Israel  points  to  the  Trinity.

Deuteronomy  6:4  - "Hear,  O  Israel:  The  LORD  our God,  the  LORD  is one!"  -  is
called  the Shema  by  the  Jews  (shema  is  the  Hebrew  word  for  "hear").  It  was
chanted  over  and  over  during  worship  at  the  temple,  especially  during  feast
days. Worshipers would cry out repeatedly, "Shema Ysrael Yahweh Elohim achad
Yahweh." Over and over they affirmed  that "the LORD our God  is one Lord." The
oneness of God was the foundation of the whole Hebrew religion.

Yet  the  very  wording  of  the Shema  is  telling.  Yahweh  is  the  covenant  name  of
God used by the Jews, while Elohim  is the plural  form of El, which means "God."
Now,  the  word  achad  indicates  a  compound  unity,  not  a  singular  unity.  For
example, when God  created  Eve out  of Adam,  He  said, "And  they shall become
one [achad] flesh" (Genesis 2:24), a compound unity.

A different  Hebrew  word  - yachad  -  is  required when  a singular  unity is meant.
Had this term been used in the Shema  instead of achad, we would have no basis
from  the  Old  Testament  to  accept  the  idea  of  a  Trinity.  But  the  fact  that  the
plural Elohim is paired with the achad - even within the monotheistic chant of the
Hebrews - suggests the triunity of God.

Later, when Moses  instructed Aaron  on  how  to place  the  blessings  of God  upon
the people, he was  instructed  to say, "Yahweh bless you  and keep you; Yahweh
make  His  face  shine  upon  you,  and  be  gracious  to  you;  Yahweh  lift  up  His
countenance  upon  you,  and  give  you  peace"  (Numbers  6:24).

Notice  the threefold  declaration  of  Yahweh.  One  Yahweh  -  but  why  should  the  name  be
repeated three  times? The Lord had said, "You will put my name on the children
of Israel and I will bless them." This is the trinity of blessing in unity.

Centuries  later  when  Isaiah  saw  his  vision  of  the  Lord,  high  and  lifted  up  and
sitting on the  throne, he heard  the  seraphim  say,  "Holy, holy, holy  is the  LORD
of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!" (Isaiah 6:3). Why repeat the "holy"
three times? Once more it is a threefold witness, this time to God's holiness.

In the prophecy of Isaiah 48:16, the Messiah  says, "Come near to Me, hear this:
I have not spoken  in secret  from the beginning;  from the time that it was, I was
there.  And  now  the  Lord  GOD  and  His  Spirit  have  sent  Me."  The  Revised
Standard version  reads, "The  Lord God has sent me and his Spirit," which more
literally  reflects  the  original  Hebrew.

Notice  that  the  Messiah,  Jesus,  is  saying that the Lord God and His Spirit have sent Him. This is a prophecy of the coming of the Messiah, and later the coming of the age of the Holy Spirit.

"The Greatest Mystery of All" l HOLY SPIRIT CLASS l Chuck Smith l Living Water l l Utah VidDevo l VidDevoChurch

The Greatest Mystery of All

As we consider the Trinity (or the triunity) of God, we first of all must recognize from the Scripture that it is indeed a mystery.

 In I Timothy 3:16, Paul declared, "Without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit..."

So great is this mystery that our minds can't fully wrap themselves around its reality. We simply can't understand the mystery of the Godhead. 

But this should be no surprise. 

We must remember that we are dealing with an infinite God, and
when we try to understand Him with our finite minds, we are bound to run into insurmountable difficulties. 

How can we talk about one God and yet three Persons of the one God? 

Yet that is what the Scriptures present to us.

I have no intention of trying to explain the Godhead. It is beyond the capacity of the human mind to fully comprehend. We must simply accept what the Scriptures tell us: There is one God who is manifested in three Persons, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

G. Campbell Morgan explained a big part of our problem in understanding the Trinity He declared, "The idea of one essence subsisting after a threefold manner and in a trinity of relationships finds nothing in the phenomenon of nature upon which it can fashion as a sufficient symbol." 

That is, there isn't any symbol in the physical universe that can adequately picture the triunity of God.

Yet we do try to find one. 

We're always attempting to find some kind of symbol by which we can make an analogy describing the Godhead. 

But as Morgan said, there just isn't anything in nature that can adequately depict the triunity of God.

Paul called it a mystery and, because it is a mystery, we cannot expect to reduce it to logical precepts.

Our finite minds rebel against this. They say, "The Trinity is a contradiction; how could there be one God and yet three Persons in that one God?" 

Because of the difficulty of comprehending the Trinity, there will always be those who jump in and deny the three Persons of the one Godhead. But beware!

Denial of the Trinity always brings the denial of the deity of Jesus Christ and the personality of the Holy Spirit.

Some people have suggested that the Trinity is a mathematical absurdity. 

One plus one plus one, they point out, equals three. But this proves nothing. One times one times one equals one. 

You can't disprove the Godhead mathematically.

No, we must stick to what the Bible declares about the nature of God. And it says the Holy Spirit is God. It teaches us there is one God, manifested in three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

The Westminster Confession says it like this: "There is but one living and true God. In the unity of the Godhead there are three persons. 

One God of one substance, power and eternity. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit."

"The Mystery of the Three in One" l HOLY SPIRIT CLASS l Chuck Smith l Living Water l l Utah VidDevo l VidDevoChurch

2. The Mystery of the Three in One

And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested
in the flesh, justified in the Spirit...
- I Timothy 3:16

Everybody loves a good mystery. You curl up in a comfortable chair, suspend disbelief, immerse yourself in an exotic world full of odd twists and turns, and try to figure out whodunit before you reach the last, satisfying page. 

Most often your guess is off the mark, but sometimes you actually get it right. And then you can't help but think triumphantly, Sherlock Holmes, beware!

The Scripture has its own mysteries - just as intriguing, just as captivating as any mystery crafted by the latest best-selling author, yet they are infinitely more baffling. No human mind can plumb their depths. 

Who can fully explain how God can be sovereign and yet give men and women free will?

 How could Jesus be both 100 percent human and 100 percent divine? 

A thousand such puzzles confront us throughout the pages of the Bible. 

But perhaps the greatest biblical mystery of all is the Trinity

"Where Is He Leading You?" l HOLY SPIRIT CLASS l Chuck Smith l Living Water l l Utah VidDevo l VidDevoChurch

Where Is He Leading You?

When you walk with the Spirit, develop in your relationship with Him, and respond to His work in you, it is very likely that you will begin to have all kinds of glorious, supernatural experiences. 

Sometimes there will be no response more appropriate than weeping. At other times there will be tremendous joy or overwhelming love. Many kinds of responses are possible as we walk in the Spirit and allow ourselves to be led by Him.

It's always glorious to realize that God's hand is upon you, guiding you along the right route. Of course, at the time you may not always recognize His Spirit's guiding hand; but as the event begins to come together, it suddenly dawns on you: God is leading me!

Several years ago I was called to visit a lady from Calvary Chapel who had broken her back in a serious car accident. I went to St. Joseph's Hospital to pray for her, and soon discovered that in her six-bed ward there were two other ladies also from our church. God had planned it so that I was able to minister to all three of them.

 I didn't know the other two were there, but when I walked in each
of them got excited and thought I had come to visit her. (I prayed for them all.) As I was leaving the room and walking back to the elevator, I couldn't contain my excitement. "Lord, I love Your efficiency," I said. "I don't know how many rooms there are in St. Joseph's Hospital, but there are an awful lot. But You're so
efficient, Lord - You put the three ladies from Calvary in the same room so that I could get all three with one visit! This is great, Lord. I love it."

I got in the elevator and pushed the button for the ground floor, but when the door opened and I looked out, I knew I was lost. I had arrived at the nurses' station, not the lobby. So I stepped back in, thinking someone else must have stopped the elevator on that floor. 
But when I looked up at the indicator light, the "G" for ground floor was lit up. I was really confused then. A nurse saw my confusion and said, "Are you looking for the lobby?"
"Yes, what did they do with it?" I replied.
"You took the service elevator," she said. I looked up, and there was the sign, as big as life: "Service Elevator, Employees Only."
"Oh, I'm so sorry," I said. "I wasn't paying any attention upstairs."
"That's all right," she reassured me. "Well ... how do I get to the lobby?" I asked.
"It's very simple," she replied. "Just go down to the first hallway, turn right, and then you'll be right in the lobby."

I thanked her, and as I walked away I thought, Oh, what a stupid mistake! As I turned down a short corridor, there was a girl, standing and weeping. She looked up, saw me, and screamed, "Chuck!" 

Immediately she came running up to me and began to sob almost hysterically When I finally got her calmed down sufficiently, I asked, "What's wrong? What can I do? Tell me - let's pray. What
can we pray for?"
"Chuck," she replied, "my dearest friend in the whole world - the man who led me to Jesus Christ - is this very moment having brain surgery. This man is such a wonderful Christian. He's been a missionary in Africa and was sent home to have this surgery. 

The doctors give him very little hope for being able to walk again. He has a brain tumor that they think has already affected his walking ability, and they feel that..." 

She broke off, in tears. "Chuck, I can't bear the thought of such a beautiful man of God being crippled. I'm just devastated."
God enabled us to pray together. I gave her some Scripture and pointed her to Jesus. "I was so desperate," she told me after we had finished. "I was just here praying, 'God, I can't handle this. Please send someone along to help me, to pray with me."' She stopped for a moment, then continued.

 "And when I looked up, here you came walking down the hall." Right then the light went on for me. My mistake wasn't merely a stupid error. God had prepared the whole scenario. And I suddenly had the realization: God's hand is on me! He's leading me by the
Spirit.

Talk about a rush, about real excitement! I had been so excited about God's efficiency that on my way down to the lobby I hadn't paid any attention to the signs over the elevator. But God used my oversight to get me down a certain corridor. Had I used the main elevator, I would have walked through the lobby and been gone. But God's Spirit directed me to a certain corridor to meet the need of a certain young girl who in utter desperation was crying out to God for help.

He will do the same thing for you. 

As you walk in the Spirit and continue in the things of the Spirit, you too will be blessed with exciting experiences that will thrill you to the core of your being. You'll see the power of God as you witness the various manifestations of the Spirit. It's always thrilling to be a part of what God is doing.

As exciting as they are, however, they aren't what we are to look for. Ecstatic experiences can be wonderful, but they can never be our goal. 

Our goal - yours and mine - must always be to want more of God, and for Him to have more of us.

That's what the Spirit wants, as well.

 He wants a personal relationship with you that is warm, intimate, and growing. He wants to know you and be known by you.

So what do you say?