Should
We Pray to the Holy Spirit?
Jhn 14:23 Jesus answered and
said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love
him, and
we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
Dear Reader,
Someone has posed the
question to me: "Do you pray to the Holy Spirit?" I answer your
question by saying yes, I pray to the Holy Spirit, just as Ellen White did in
the following statement:
"Here is where
the work of the Holy Ghost comes in, after your baptism. You are baptized in the name of the Father, of the
Son, and of the Holy Ghost. You are raised up out
of the water to live henceforth in newness of life--to live a new life. You are
born unto God, and you stand under the sanction and the power of the three holiest beings
in heaven, who are able to keep you from falling. You are to reveal that you are dead to sin; your life is hid with
Christ in God. Hidden 'with Christ in God,'--wonderful transformation. This is
a most precious promise. When I feel oppressed, and hardly know how to relate
myself toward the work that God has given me to do, I just call upon the three great
Worthies, and say; You know I cannot do this work in my own strength. You must work in me, and by me and through me,
sanctifying my tongue, sanctifying my spirit, sanctifying my words, and
bringing me into a position where my spirit shall be susceptible to the movings of the Holy Spirit of God upon my mind and
character." E.G. White Manuscript
Releases Volume Seven, p. 267.
A "Being" is
a person. Ellen White believed in three holiest Beings in heaven. Calling upon
the three great worthies is praying to them, supplicating them, talking to
them. She could not call upon a Being that was not a person.
The above statement
makes mention of the Holy Spirit of God. The following statement mentions the
Holy Spirit of Christ:
"Christ breathed
upon his disciples, and said, ‘Receive ye the Holy Ghost.’ Christ is represented by His Holy Spirit today in
every part of his great moral vineyard. He will give the
inspiration of His Holy Spirit to all those who are of a contrite spirit. Let there be more dependence
upon the efficiency of the Holy Spirit, and far less upon human agencies. I am
sorry to say that at least some have not given evidence that they have learned
the lesson of meekness and lowliness in the school of Christ. They do not abide
in Christ, they have no vital connection with him. They are not directed by the wisdom of Christ, through the impartation
of His Holy Spirit. Then I ask you, how can we regard these men as
faultless in judgment? They may be in responsible positions, but they are
living separated from Christ. They have not the mind of Christ, and do not
learn daily of his. Yet in some cases their judgment is trusted, and their
counsel is regarded as the wisdom of God. When
human agents choose the will of God, and are conformed to the character of
Christ, Jesus acts through their organs and faculties." E.G. White, Special Testimonies to Ministers and
Workers, No. 3, p. 48.
Now lets weigh the above counsel of the gift of prophecy to the
church with that of the Bible. Let’s go to John Chapter 14 to find out who
responds to our prayers:
Jhn 14:1 Let not your heart be
troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
Jhn 14:2 In my Father's house
are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a
place for you.
Jhn 14:3 And if I go and prepare
a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I
am, there ye may be also.
Jhn 14:4 And whither I go ye
know, and the way ye know.
Jhn 14:5 Thomas saith unto him,
Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we
know the way?
Jhn 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh
unto the Father, but by me.
Jhn 14:7 If ye had known me, ye
should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have
seen him.
Jhn 14:8 Philip saith unto him,
Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
Jhn 14:9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou
not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then,
Shew us the Father?
Jhn 14:10 Believest
thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in
me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
Jhn 14:11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.
Jhn 14:12 Verily, verily, I say
unto you, He that believeth on me, the works
that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I
go unto my Father.
Jhn 14:13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I
do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
Jhn 14:14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do
it.
Jhn 14:15 If ye love me, keep my
commandments.
Jhn 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you
another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
Jhn 14:17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth
him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth
with you, and shall be in you.
Jhn 14:18 I will not leave you
comfortless: I will come to you.
Jhn 14:19 Yet a little while, and
the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I
live, ye shall live also.
Jhn 14:20 At that day ye shall
know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I
in you.
Jhn 14:21 He that hath my
commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth
me: and he that loveth
me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him,
and will manifest myself to him. Jhn 14:22
Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt
manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?
Jhn 14:23 Jesus answered and
said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love
him, and
we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
Jhn 14:24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye
hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.
Jhn 14:25 These things have I
spoken unto you, being yet present with you.
Jhn 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the
Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all
things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
Jhn 14:27 Peace I leave with
you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let
not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
Jhn 14:28 Ye have heard how I
said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would
rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my
Father is greater than I.
Jhn 14:29 And now I have told
you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might
believe.
Jhn 14:30 Hereafter I will not
talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in
me.
Jhn 14:31 But that the world may know that I love the Father;
and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.
· Some believe in praying only to the Father. Jesus said
that NO ONE comes to the Father but by Him. Verse 6.
· The Spirit of Truth dwells in us. Jesus says that He
is the way, the life, and the Truth. (Verse 6). Jhn 14:17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world
cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with
you, and shall be in you.
· Jesus prays to the Father that His (Jesus’) Holy
Spirit will be sent to us. Jhn 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you
another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
· ALL THREE COME TO US—THE HOLY SPIRIT, JESUS AND THE
FATHER VIA THEIR ONE ETERNAL SPIRIT ESSENCE, SUBSTANCE: Jhn 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man
love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we
will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
· It should be clear that when we pray to Jesus, we are
praying to His Holy Spirit Divine Nature.
· Jhn 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the
Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all
things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
· Why did Jesus say that His Father was greater than He?:
Jhn 14:28 Ye have heard how I said unto
you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice,
because I said, I go unto the Father: for my
Father is greater than I.
· Jesus was speaking of His humanity when He said the
Father was greater than He. This is the only proper interpretation we can make
when He says elsewhere that He thought it not robbery to be equal with His
Father.
· In Revelation, Jesus refers to Himself in four
different places as the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.
· Rev 1:8 I am Alpha and Omega,
the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord,
which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
· Rev 1:11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and
send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto
Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto
Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
· Rev 21:6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha
and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him
that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
· Rev 22:13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the
end, the first and the last.
We know Jesus is
speaking in these verses because He is the one “WHICH IS TO COME.” And that
verse refers to Him as THE ALMIGHTY. We must accept this by faith and not
question this evidence. Ellen White says that we will be learning the Godhead
for eternity, so we should not try to fill in all the blanks now! Just take the
evidence that has been given to us at this point and accept it without
interjecting supposition that is unknown.
We can safely call
upon the THREE WORTHIES, but we should remember that we come to the Father only
through Christ and His Divine Holy Spirit. When we pray the Lord’s prayer, we
are praying to all three members of the Godhead for one very sure reason—THERE
IS ONE ETERNAL SPIRIT WHICH CONSTITUTES ONE GOD. But our prayers ascend to God
only through Christ and His Holy Spirit, because it was the Son who made access
to the Father possible.
Isa 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son
is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be
called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The
everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
In the sense of Isaiah
9:6, Jesus is our Father and we are His children. This is another aspect of the
eternal mystery.
~rwb