P2 4 impossible areas made possible

Ephesians 4:1 "Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called."

Introduction & review from yesterday's post
Yesterday we began looking at 4 impossible areas that are made possible by the Person and power of the Holy Spirit.  We noted two of them and will note two more in today's post:
1. Salvation
2. Ministry
3. Family
4. Life

When the Apostle Paul wrote his letter to the Ephesians church, his circumstances would be considered by most to be impossible. He was chained to a Roman soldier, under house arrest in Rome. At the time he wrote his letters to not only to Ephesus, but also Phillipi, Colosse and to Philemon, there was some uncertainty as to how his situation was ultimately going to turn out.  The odds were stacked against Paul and yet he did the impossible.  He wrote inerrant letters by the Spirit's Divine inspiration.  He urged his readers to consider their inheritance (Ephesians), press onto maturity in Christ (Colossians), be joyful (Philippians) and exercise forgiveness (Philemon). Paul did the impossible by the power of the Holy Spirit.  As we continue on in this theme, we will once again rely mainly on the book of Ephesians. Note the two other impossible areas that are made possible by the Holy Spirit.

The Christian family is impossible without the Power of the Holy Spirit
As one journeys into Ephesians 4 & 5, we see further mentioning of the Holy Spirit.  Christians are warned not to grieve Him, but to cultivate a rich relationship with Him by practicing forgiveness and love in relationships with others. (Ephesians 4:30-32)  Ephesians 5:18 gives us one of the most important commands in scriptures: "And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit." In salvation, the believer gets all of the Holy Spirit they are ever going to receive by way of His indwelling their human spirit (innermost being). (1 Corinthians 2:12) However the issue remains through the rest of the Christian life of the Spirit getting more and more of the believer to submit under His influence, leading and control. To be filled with the Spirit has to do with submitting under His leading through repeated Christian obedience.  Spirit-filled living carries with it the blessings of empowerment to achieve extraordinary things that are otherwise impossible in the flesh. (compare Romans 8:1-5)  

It is no accident that following the command to be filled or under the influence of the Spirit's control, we find immediate areas of application.  Certainly church life is one of those areas (5:19-21).  But now what composes the local church? Families.  Hence we see the two main areas that make up the Christian family: marriage (5:22-33) and children (6:1-6).  

A Godly, Christ-centered marriage cannot be possible unless the Holy Spirit is the One in control.  
To love one's wife like Christ loves the church is not possible in the domain of human love.  Unless the husband has given himself to prayer, humility and the scripture, he will not be able to achieve the commands given by Paul.  Likewise the wife too must be Spirit-filled in order to not merely submit out of duty, but out of delight.  The husbands' love is primary and is what regulates and encourages the wife's voluntary submission.  When the Holy Spirit is filling both spouses, Christ will never be more present or sensed than when such conditions are present. 

Parents and children need to be filled with the Holy Spirit  
Raising up of children with Christian conviction in this 21st century age requires more than what parents can give. As a father of four children myself, my wife and I are keenly aware of the demands.  We have two teenagers, an 8 year old and a pre-schooler.  It is more than fair to say that lest the Spirit be empowering and filling us daily, we will not be able to exercise the patience and soundness of mind needed to guide our children through their development.  Likewise too, children who are converted unto Christ must learn what it means to be Spirit filled, since their obedience is commanded in the context. (Ephesians 6:1). Unless parents model such a conviction, they can run the risk of exasperating their children and thus violating the instruction given in Ephesians 6:4.  

So we have seen thus far that salvation, ministry and the Christian family are impossibilities apart from the Holy Spirit.  There is one more impossible area that requires the Holy Spirit's power, namely....

The Christian-life is impossible without the Holy Spirit
As the reader scans through Ephesians 6:7-10 and 6:11-24, two general areas of the Christian-life can be noted: the work place and spiritual warfare. 

The Christian employee and employer need to be Spirit-filled
Again the whole point of this two-part series has been to aid the reader in identifying areas that are impossible to do in human strength, and see that only by the Spirit's empowerment can such areas be deemed possible. 

Ephesians 6:7-8 and 6:9 deal in the respective areas of what would had been slaves and masters in the setting of first century Roman culture. Slavery in the first century was different from the more familiar, brutality that was exercised during the 19th century, Civil War period.  Though there were excesses and abuses in the first century, oftentimes slaves would have it better than so-called "free-men".  Slaves often had trades and even had the option of being adopted by slave owners.  It was not-uncommon for masters to bequeath their wealth to slaves upon their death.

In looking at Ephesians 6:7-9 we can apply the principles of slaves regarding their masters and masters taking care of their slaves to what is necessary in the work place.  A Spirit-filled Christian employee can be a blessing to his boss or business owner, being that he is all about pleasing His Master in heaven. (Colossians 4:1) The same type of logic can be applied in the other direction concerning a Spirit-filled employer's treatment of employees. The Christian-life in general is often no more tested than in the work place.  Without the Spirit's empowerment, Christian employees and employers will not be able to bring glory to Jesus Christ.  

Spiritual warfare requires the Christian to be Spirit-filled
Likewise the second main area of the Christian-life, spiritual warfare, undoubtedly requires the Spirit's power.  Passages such as 2 Corinthians 10:3-4 remind the reader that our warfare is not with flesh and blood.  The warfare of the Christian is not a conventional warfare.  The forces of darkness are at work against the church.  As Paul wrote these words, he undoubtedly was directed by the Spirit to gaze upon that Roman soldier to whom he was chained.  The full-length description of the spiritual armor matches what would had been standard issue Roman armory. Truly the Christian life is a call to arms. We are called to live the life of a soldier, not a civilian. Civilians aims to center their lives around convenience and comfort.  However the Christian is a soldier.  Consider what Paul writes in 2 Timothy 2:3-4 "Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier."

Conclusions: How 4 impossible areas are made possible
Over the past two days we have explored 4 impossible areas.  These 4 areas are regarded by most people as doable and achievable within the realm of human strength and ingenuity.  We have proposed that these 4 areas: salvation, ministry, Christian family & Christian life are impossible to accomplish apart from the Holy Spirit's power.  We have walked our way through the book of Ephesians and other texts to demonstrate this central set of assumptions. Practically speaking, the ways in which we can open ourselves to the Spirit's power and filling in our lives in these four areas is through opening our Bibles, opening our hearts to prayer and opening ourselves to be humble. When the Spirit of God is running the show in the realm of our cooperation, rather than the self in non-cooperation, the Power to achieve the impossible is truly made possible.   

P1 4 impossible areas made possible

Luke 18:26-27 They who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” 27 But He said, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.”

Introduction: Meet the man who accomplished an impossible feat by being connected to the right people and power source 

Felix Baumgartner did what many would call an impossible thing.  On October 14, 2012 he was taken 128,100 feet into the area where space and the earth's atmosphere meet.  In that alien looking environment where oxygen is in short supply, Felix jumped and broke two world records: exceeding the speed of sound in a free-fall as well as completing the longest free-fall in human history.  Baumgartner had spent five years preparing for his feat and many tests had to be done before he was sent aloft.  However without an entire team of people in a mission control watching his every move and without a specially designed vehicle attached to a special balloon and without the pressurized suit, Felix would had remained grounded.  He needed the right people and power to lift him to the level whereby he could achieve the impossible.  (note: you can watch the video here by right-clicking on link, copying and pasting the link in your web-browser after reading this post. The video is over a minute long: 
http://www.redbullstratos.com/gallery/?mediaId=media1900707044001

Christian people and the church have been called by God to do impossible things.  Unless we have the Person and the Power of the Holy Spirit operating in our lives and enabling us, we will never be able to accomplish God's purposes. 

The problem of confusing the impossible with the possible

In the opening text above, Jesus' disciples could not get over the fact that the rich young ruler had not become a disciple of Jesus Christ, just like them.  To them, if anyone was a fit candidate to follow Jesus Christ, it was the rich young ruler.  He was wealthy, leader of a local Jewish synagogue, young with much potential and knowledgeable. Their shock is evident in the question they ask Jesus in Luke 18:26 "Then who can be saved?" The disciples and most everyone in the Jewish culture had come to regard salvation as being within the grasp of human effort and thus possible.  If a man was smart enough and good enough and lived according the law of God, that was all that was necessary for salvation (according to the Jewish tradition outside the scriptures).  Yet, the rich young ruler had demonstrated absolute failure.  Jesus' response aimed to correct the disciple's confusion: "with men, this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible."  Who alone can make what is impossible possible? In just a moment we will be briefly looking at four areas that many deem quite possible, however they are actually impossible.  It will be discovered that the Person and Power of the Holy Spirit, Who is God, is the One who makes impossible things possible.  We will list the four impossible things first, and then discuss them one at a time.  Our main resource for today's post will be the Book of Ephesians. 

4 Impossible things         Made Possible by

Salvation                           The Holy Spirit

Ministry                             The Holy Spirit

Christian Family                 The Holy Spirit

Christian Life                     The Holy Spirit

Salvation: the impossible made possible by the Holy Spirit
Can human beings bring about their own salvation? Can anyone achieve enough favor before God to meet Him halfway, with He in turn finishing the process with a shot of saving grace? When we come to Ephesians 1:19 we read: "and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might". A few verses later in Ephesians 2:5 it is evident that the Christian life is birthed by God in their simultaneous trust of Christ in saving faith: "even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)". Truly without the Person of the Holy Spirit's involvement in salvation, no one would be able to believe and be saved.  Sinners are not merely sick patients on a bed in need of some medicine, but are dead people in need of a resurrection. (Compare John 5:24-25; 1 Peter 1:3-4)

Falling under the impossibility of salvation without the Spirit's working is the mission itself. As we carry on our efforts to share the Gospel with people, we must remember that the Great commission is guaranteed a 100% success rate. Why? All whom the Spirit calls and convicts unto saving faith believe. (John 1:12-13) Our obedience and cooperation in the Great commission is a matter of obedience, however the Spirit's involvement is as necessary to empower the messengers as well as the message. (John 16:8-11; 1 Thessalonians 2:12-13)  I'm so glad that God sent the Spirit in Jesus' name to empower His church through the communication of the scriptures, otherwise salvation would indeed be impossible. (Acts 1:8)  So as we can see, the Holy Spirit makes this first impossible area possible.  Lets note another impossible area....

Christian ministry: an otherwise impossible undertaking made possible
The church world sometimes makes it sound like that with the right programs, right lighting, right strategy and right intelligence we can do what it takes to perform effective ministry. Think of three major parts of a given church ministry that even in and of themselves are impossible to do on human strength alone: planning, preaching and participation.  

Planning is impossible without the Holy Spirit. Without the Spirit's empowerment, the best laid plans of mice and men will fail. Now don't misunderstand: I follow the old tried and true adage: "if you fail to plan, you plan to fail".  To not sit down and plan what your given ministry is going to do is dishonoring to God. (compare Luke 14:28-35). However the planning aspect of ministry must include the Power of the Holy Spirit.  Here is the deal: God has called the church to do impossible things.  If we plan every activity in our churches that are well within the grasp of our intelligence, cleverness and skill-set, we will yield expected, natural and explainable outcomes.  However when a church has caught the vision to do the impossible - that is, where we know we need the One who can do all things through our willing hearts - the Holy Spirit, only then can we conclude that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us by His Spirit.  (compare Ephesians 2:20-22; Philippians 3:14). 

Finishing projects that were planned and begun (whether buildings or Sunday School growth, for example) requires the Power of the Holy Spirit.  We welcome the Holy Spirit's work by opening up our Bibles, intercessory prayer and humbly saying to Him in echo of His words: "with men, this is impossible, but with the Lord, all things are possible." (Matthew 19:26) 

Preaching is impossible without the Holy Spirit. Preaching done in human strength and wisdom can only endure for so long before the preacher, the people and the preaching become anemic.  As a preacher I can tell you first hand: preaching that makes a difference is impossible! That is of course unless the Holy Spirit is empowering the preacher and his preaching.  Ephesians 3:7 states - "of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power."  Notice the phrase - "the working of His power". 1 Thessalonians 1:5 states this clearly - "for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake."  The way a preacher can directly plug into the power of the Spirit in preaching is by immersing Himself in the text and praying over his notes, his heart and the lives of His people. (Colossians 4:12-13)

Participation is impossible without the Holy Spirit. 
In our churches and ministries, there is always something to do, something to be done.  In our ministries, giving to God's work is always in need.  Guilt is the worse way to get people to get involved. How can it be that God's people get involved with what God is doing? Consider Ephesians 4:11-12 "And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ."  Christ is the One who grants the offices and ministry structure needed to equip people for the work. 

So then, Who is the One who empowers Christians to get involved? Consider 1 Corinthians 12:7 "But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good." The Person of the Holy Spirit is the one who gifts each child of God with abilities and desires to do the work laid out by the Person of the Son.  In His fully divine union with the Father and the Son, He brings God's power, presence and plans to bear on any given situation.  

All the work of the ministry is not confined to within the walls of the church.  If anything, the saints of God are equipped to do the work of ministry that lies outside the walls of the church.  For years it has been quipped that there is always those 20% of the people that end up doing 80% of the work.  What if God has so designed His ministry to be that the remaining 80% of the people are equipped to do what is needed in reaching out to others? Only the Holy Spirit's empowerment can make such an impossibility possible.  

More tomorrow.....

The Spirit's work in the life of the Christian in Ephesians

Ephesians 1:11-13 "also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, 12 to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. 13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise."

Introduction: The Believer's treasure chest is Jesus Christ and the key to that treasure chest in the Holy Spirit

God in all of His Triune glory is depicted in the opening chapter of the Book of Ephesians.  We see the Person of the Father as the Planner of our salvation in 1:1-6.  Then in 1:7-10 we see the Son as the Purchaser of salvation by the giving of His human life on the cross with the value of His infinite life providing sufficient salvation for all men with application to all who believe. The Holy Spirit then is the Applier of our salvation, taking what the Father planned and the Son purchased and applying it through His calling, regenerative work in saving faith to all who trust in the saving work of Jesus Christ in 1:11-14.  

The whole point of the Book of Ephesians is to explain the believer's inheritance or treasure chest that is Jesus Christ.  The sole key to that treasure chest is none other than the Holy Spirit of God.  It is he Who takes what was planned and purchased and applies it. As Paul writes in Ephesians 1:14  "who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory."

Tracing the Person and work of the Holy Spirit through Ephesians: changing the ordinary into extraordinary

Every chapter in the book of Ephesians contains a reference to the Person and work of the Holy Spirit. As one journey's their way through these references, it is crystal clear how the Holy Spirit is the key that unlocks to the Christian their inheritance and treasure in Jesus Christ. As you will see, many of the areas touched by the Holy Spirit in Ephesians are transformed from ordinary to extraordinary.  Lets see what the Spirit of God does and what the results are when He touches an ordinary person to transform them into an extraordinary vessel for the King, Jesus Christ.

1. The believer is treasured by Christ.

Ephesians 1:13-14.

Whenever you read these two verses, you discover that at salvation, the Holy Spirit seals our salvation (1:13) and is given as a "pledge" of our inheritance (1:14). Quite literally when we read the word "pledge" in the original language, it would correspond to the idea of making a down payment on a house or property.  Whoever makes such a "pledge" is obligated to continue making further payments.

Being that the Holy Spirit is such a pledge, God is obligated to His own name no to forsake the Christian, even though they may at times feel inclined to walk away from Him. (compare 2 Timothy 2:13). 

To use a relational word-picture, an engagement ring is given by a man to a woman signalling that to her alone is he pledged, and that there will be a full wedding right around the corner.  The Christian is viewed as being engaged or espoused to her beloved, the Lord Jesus Christ. To prove to Christians just how treasured they are by Him, God gave of Himself and from Himself to the Christian.  He is the preview of things to come.  The infinitely valuable Person, the Holy Spirit, is pledged to us by the Father on the Son's behalf. 2 Corinthians 1:22 states similarly - "who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge."  Truly when the Holy Spirit seals us and pledges Himself to us at saving faith, we go from being natural sinners to supernatural saints - treasured by Christ, trophies of His grace.  But there is more..

2. The Christian has unlimited access to God, and God to them. Ephesians 2:18

Ephesians 2:18 states - "for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father." Imagine if we did not have the Person of the Holy Spirit. We come to know about God in the general revelation of creation and the conscience.  All men know that deep down, they are guilty before God. But without the Person and work of the Holy Spirit, we would have no way of accessing the God of creation.  Furthermore, without the Holy Spirit's inspiration of the scriptures, we would have know we of knowing the Second Person of the God-head, Jesus Christ. Further reflection will show that it was the Holy Spirit who made possible the Son's incarnation, empowerment for ministry and the events of His cross and resurrection.  Were it not for the Holy Spirit, we would have no access to the events of the cross and empty tomb, no solution, no hope.  

It is "in" or "by" the Spirit we have unlimited access to the Father through the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. That is extraordinary indeed! But notice further....

3. The Christian has the ability by the Spirit to live supernaturally

The following passages in Ephesians all speak about the various ways in which the Spirit of God takes an ordinary person and transforms them into an extraordinary child of God. In Ephesians 3:5 and 16 we see the linkage between the Spirit's work through the scriptures and His work inside the spirit of the believer. Ephesians 4:3-4 reminds us of the fact that the Spirit not only initially calls us unto Christ at salvation, but it is He who continues calling us ever deeper in Christ in our sanctification. Ephesians 4:30, 5:9,18 all speak to the relational dimension that exists between the Christian and the Holy Spirit.  We must be careful not to grieve Him (4:30), but to walk by Him (5:9) and to be influenced under His leadership (5:18). 

4. The believer can, by the Spirit, walk in victory

Ephesians 6:17-18 give us the believer's two-fold method for waging successful spiritual warfare - by the word and by prayer.  2 Corinthians 6:6-7 states - "in purity, in knowledge, in patience, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in genuine love, 7 in the word of truth, in the power of God; by the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left." The believer can, by the Holy Spirit, walk in victory.  Sadly many Christians end up in the merry-go-round of repeated sin because of the their own choice.  A Christian sins because of choice, not necessity.  We need the Spirit's ordained means of empowerment for the Christian walk: His inerrant Word and intercessory prayer.   

Conclusion:

We have seen today the Spirit's work in the life of the Christian in the book of Ephesians.  We noted how the book of Ephesians aims to show Christ as the believer's treasure chest, the the Holy Spirit as the key.  The following thoughts were gleaned in showing how the Holy Spirit's work can take the ordinary and transform it into the extraordinary:

1. The believer is treasured by Christ

2. The Christian has unlimited access to God, and God to them

3. The Christian has the Spirit-given ability to live supernaturally

4. The Christian can, by the Spirit, walk in victory

Some of the Holy Spirit's ministries in the Christian life

John 15:26 “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father,He will testify about Me."

Introduction:

Yesterday's post featured Luke, the theologian of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament. The reason we looked at Luke's Gospel and his accompanying volume of Acts was because of the numerous references to the Holy Spirit.  In surveying Luke/Acts we discovered the following ministries of the Holy Spirit work as the Holy Ghost in both Jesus' life and the early church:

1. Filling

2. Conception/New Birth

3. Leading/prompting

4. Union with Christ (baptism of the Spirit)

5. Anointing

6. The offense of blasphemy of the Spirit

In today's post we want to take the first five of those categories and see if we can find them in the New Testament letters.  Why the N.T letters or epistles? Because the N.T epistles detail the work of the Holy Spirit in the Christian life.  Like yesterday, I will simply give the headings and corresponding verses.  May this post prove valuable to the Christian read wanting to grow in their faith.

1. New Birth/regeneration.

James 1:18 "In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures."

2. Filling of the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 5:18 "And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but befilled with the Spirit."

3. Leading/prompting of the Spirit

1 Corinthians 10:13 "No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it."

Philippians 3:15 "Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you."

4. Union with Christ by the Spirit

1 Corinthians 12:13 "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit."

note: This is not water baptism, which follows and signifies the reality of this work of the Spirit already having occurred in conversion. Water baptism is a God ordained picture that re-enacts and illuminates the new believer to the truth of what happened to them at salvation.  People don't get water baptized to get saved and spirit baptized, rather they are water baptized following their salvation. Water baptism logically connects the new Christian back to the reality of their prior spirit baptism, however it does not impart the salvation which it pictures or points.  In the death, burial, resurrection sequence of believer's baptism by immersion, the Christian acts out in sign form the Spirit's uniting of them to Jesus Christ which occurred in His spiritual baptism or uniting of them to Christ at prior saving faith.  

5. Anointing/power/illuminating ministry of the Holy Spirit

1 John 2:20 "But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know."

1 John 2:27 "As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him."

Luke: The New Testament Theologian of the Holy Spirit

Luke 1:15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb.

Introduction:

Today's post is aimed at introducing the reader to Luke's Gospel and his second volume, the Book of Acts, regarding what He has to write about the Person and work of the Holy Spirit. No other writer in either Old or New Testament writes as much about the Holy Spirit's working as the Holy Ghost as does Luke (over 50 references in all!) To keep today's post at a readable length, I will give the reader main headings with accompanying scripture from Luke and Acts that refer to the Holy Spirit. May the reader find these to be encouraging, informative and insightful to the glory of Jesus Christ!

1. Filling of the Holy Spirit.

In the life of Christ: Luke 1:15,17,35,41; 2:25; 3:32; 4:1

In the life of the church: Acts 6:3,5,11:24; 13:52

2. Conception

In the humanity of Christ: Luke 1:35

The believer's New birth: Acts 2:33,38; 8:15,17,19; 10:45-47; 19:2

3. Leading/prompting

In Jesus' life: Luke 2:27,27

In the church's life: Acts 1:2; 8:29; 11:12; 13:2,4; 15:28; 16:6; 19:21; 20:22,23; 21:4

4. Baptism

Jesus' baptism: Luke 3:16

Spirit's baptism (to inaugurate New Covenant church) promised on the day of Pentecost by Jesus: Acts 1:5

5. Anointing of the Spirit

Jesus' anointing: Luke 4:18; 10:21; 12:12

Anointing of the Holy Spirit in the church: Acts 1:8; 4:8,31; 5:32; 6:10; 11:28; 13:9; 20:28; 21:11; 28:28

6. Warnings of blaspheming the Holy Spirit

Jesus' warnings: Luke 12:10

Possible blaspheming by individuals: Acts 8:9-24

7. The Person of the Holy Spirit is God

Jesus says the Spirit to be fully Divine: Luke 12:10

The Holy Spirit is explicitly equated to be fully Divine: Acts 5:3,4,9

The Holy Spirit who operates as the Holy Ghost

Matthew 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. (KJV)

Today's post is going to briefly explain a curious translation characteristic of the KJV concerning the Holy Spirit.  In 89 spots we find the phrase "Holy Ghost" and in at least 6 spots we find the translation "Holy Spirit".  Why? Let's first clear up what is not being meant in the rendering of these phrases:

1. The "Holy Ghost" and "The Holy Spirit" are not two separate entities nor two aspects of God.  
2. The "Holy Ghost" is not in reference to a manifestation of Jesus Christ back on earth once again (right now) following His ascension into Heaven.1  

With those two observations, lets now attempt to see if we can probe into why it is the KJV chose to render the Third Person of the Trinity, the Spirit of God, by these two titles.

1. The phrases "Holy Spirit" and "Holy Ghost" refer to the Person and Working of the third Person of the Trinity
In most of the texts that we see the translation "Holy Ghost", we could literally translate from the Greek: "The Spirit of Holiness".  In the texts that render Him as "The Holy Spirit", we could literally render the Greek text: "The Spirit who is Holy".  In the contexts of all the verses, "Holy Ghost" and "Holy Spirit" are referring to God as He is revealed in the third Person of the Trinity.  

A study of Strong's Exhaustive Concordance yields the following facts about these two phrases: "Holy Ghost" occurs 89 times, with almost half of those instances found in the Book of Acts.  Whenever we read all of those verses, the Holy Spirit's functions, empowerment of God's people and activity of His office are in view.  It is also interesting to note that, at least in the KJV, the phrase "Holy Ghost" only shows up in the New Testament, telling us that His ministry is of a different degree than that of the Old Testament. 

Whenever we look up the phrase "Holy Spirit", we only find the phrase appearing three times in the Old Testament and 4 times in the New with regard to the actual Person of the Holy Spirit Himself.  Interestingly enough, four passages (Luke 4:1; John 7:39; Acts 2:4; 1 Cor 12:3) contain both, reminding us that the Person of the Holy Spirit cannot be separated from His official capacity as the Holy Ghost. 

In sum: the title "Spirit of Holiness" (i.e Holy Ghost) is in reference to The Person of the Holy Spirit operating in His presence, power or office.  Whereas the title "The Spirit who is Holy" (i.e Holy Spirit) is in reference to the Person Himself. 

A brief illustration of what we're trying to communicate
Much like my role as a dad, or my role as a husband - I as a person occupy those different things.  They define what I do, and are closely associated with whom I am.  My functions in the life of my family flow from who I am in their lives.  In a more profound way, the Holy Spirit and His Work are so intimately linked that for all intents and purposes, there is no way to separate Him from His work.2

2. How the distinctions between "Holy Spirit" and "Holy Ghost" aid in understanding the Person and work of the Holy Spirit
This subtle distinction helps us to put together a biblical theology of the Person and work of the Spirit of God in the Bible.  The KJV translators in 1611, as well as older English translators, used the Old English word "Ghost" in its meaning of referring to a being of spiritual or immaterial nature.  The word "ghost" of course has changed significantly since then, which is why in English translations after the KJV, we see all the texts changed to the sole rendering "Holy Spirit".3 

The KJV translators had something in mind when they rendered the work, the presence or the power of the Spirit of God as "Holy Ghost".  Furthermore, in studying the Greek texts of the remaining instances where they render "Holy Spirit", it appears they were interested in pointing out the Spirit of God's "personality" or "Personhood".  Even without these two distinct titles, we can still make sense of the distinction between the Holy Spirit's power and personhood from the texts which speak about Him.   

3. The term "Holy Spirit" refers to the third Person of the Trinity and the phrase "Holy Ghost" refers more to His office or activity
I would never want to press this distinction to the level of separate points, but rather distinct points.  As one theologian as pointed out, if I were to distinguish your soul and body, it would not affect you; however if I were to separate your soul and body, you would die. Just as the Second Person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ, cannot be separated from His offices as Prophet, Priest and King, so too with the Holy Spirit.4  

Conclusion: Understand the Holy Spirit's personality and power in your own life
It does help at least to think of the Holy Spirit's personal involvement as "God in us" who exercises His power or office in and through us as "The Holy Ghost".  His aim is to point us to Jesus Christ.  I hope the above discussion has aided the reader in thinking more closely about the significance of the Person of the Holy Spirit's work in His official capacity as the Holy Ghost. I will close with the following observations from Dr. Larry Pettegrew, Senior Professor of Theology at The Master's Seminary, Sun Valley California: "When we understand the biblical teachings about the New Covenant ministry of the Holy Spirit, we ought to become more spiritual."5 Later on Dr. Pettegrew observes: "Only when we consistently observe the promptings of the indwelling Spirit in our own personal lives as He reminds us of biblical truths, and are ministering effectively the teachings of the Word of God to others, do we understand fully the new Covenant ministry of the Holy Spirit.6

Endnotes:
1. Some groups have made this interpretation, unwittingly confusing the second and third persons of the Trinity.  When we confuse the persons of the God-head with one another, we have unwittingly wandered into the realm of unsound doctrine.  God's One nature or essence is equally shared by all Three Persons of the Trinity.  Titles or names of God never destroy the two most fundamental truths about God: He is One God, and second, He is One God perpetually relating within Himself as the Distinct Personages of The Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 

2. Subtle grammatical distinctions had also prompted the older translators to use the different words. Without going too technical, the modern move to render "Holy Ghost" into the phrase "Holy Spirit" does not destroy the meaning nor intent of the text.  The word in the Greek text rendered "Spirit" and "Ghost" is the same word, which is part of what prompted all English translations after the nineteenth century to render the phrase "Holy Spirit" across the board. 

3. The change does not affect the meaning of the text, since its mainly due to the way in which the word "ghost" has changed in its meaning from the seventeenth century KJV.  Even if we didn't have the two titles of "Holy Spirit" and "Holy Ghost", the words and progressive revelation of the Holy Spirit's person and work in scripture would still yield this distinction. 

4. When He inspired the words of scripture, we see the KJV rendering His activity, His "office", as acting forth as the "Holy Ghost" in 2 Peter 1:21.  When He overshadowed the virgin Mary's womb in the conception of the humanity of Jesus Christ, He is described function in the capacity of "Holy Ghost" in Matthew 1:18.

Whenever we see Jesus referring to how He is going to send the "Spirit of God" or "Spirit of Truth" (i.e the Holy Spirit), the emphasis is upon God's personal presence through the sent Holy Spirit.  Wherever we see the word "Spirit" in conjunction to the Spirit of God, we can conclude in most cases that the emphasis is upon His Personality.  Whenever we see the other 90 cases where the phrase "Holy Ghost" is being used, we can assume, in most cases, that His office, His power, His presence is being emphasized. 

5. Larry D. Pettegrew. The New Covenant Ministry of the Holy Spirit. Kregel. 2001. Page 189

6. Larry D. Pettegrew. The New Covenant Ministry of the Holy Spirit. Kregel. 2001. Page 210