Dear Reader,
Since the Holy Spirit is defined by Ellen White and Scripture as the life and soul of Jesus Christ, the Comforter, the Intercessor, the Mediator, who comes to us (John 14:16-18) as a teacher of all things, and as a reprover, is it not proper to praise, pray to, pray for, and worship the Holy Spirit? Did Ellen White appeal to the Holy Spirit as one of the three worthies? Notice:
"Here is where the work of the Holy Ghost comes in, after your baptism. You are baptized in the nave 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.
If the Holy Spirit will do the following things according to John 16, should we not worship the Holy Spirit in the person of the Son of God? Is He not worthy? Is He not a person? Do the following references to "He" mean only an influence? It says "He is come." Is "He" a person? Count the number of references to "He" in the following verses:
8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
9 Of sin, because they believe not on me;
10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
13 Howbeit 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 shew you things to come.
14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
15 All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
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.
Conclusion
When we pray for the Holy Spirit we are praying for the Divine Nature of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is the life and soul of the Son of God. We cannot worship Christ without worshipping His Holy Spirit life and soul. They are one and the same even though they are different persons. They are different persons because the Son laid aside His first estate of Being as a sacrificial gift for us for the purpose of restoring us to the image of God. The other purpose of laying aside that sacrificial gift was as an eternal Atonement for sin, for the wages of sin is eternal death, and without some form of eternal death of the Testator, the Son of God, there has been no Atonement. The trinity doctrine does not provide for that eternal payment of the wages of sin. Martin Eldon's doctrine on the Godhead does not provide for that eternal payment of the wages of sin.
"The darkness rolled away from the Saviour and from the Cross. Christ bowed His head and died. In His Incarnation He had reached the prescribed limit as a sacrifice, but not as a redeemer." E.G. White Manuscript Releases Volume Twelve, p. 409.
The reason the Son of God "...had reached the prescribed limit as a sacrifice," in His Incarnation alone, is because He then eternally laid aside His Divine Nature, uncombined with human nature, as eternal payment, Atonement, for the wages of sin which is eternal death.
Ron Beaulieu