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The Nature of the Holy Spirit Versus the Personality of God “The nature of the Holy Spirit is a mystery. Men cannot explain it,
because the Lord has not revealed it to them. Men having fanciful views may
bring together passages of Scripture and put a human construction on them;
but the acceptance of these views will not strengthen the church. Regarding
such mysteries, which are too deep for human understanding, silence is
golden.”{FLB 54.5}
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The nature of the Holy Spirit and the personality
of God and Christ are two different subjects. How bad is it when some of God’s
people don’t know the difference? Man knows nothing of the nature of God and
Christ which refers to their essence or substance, other than the fact that
they are Spirit, for Scripture tells us that God is a Spirit and that there is
ONE ETERNAL SPIRIT.
Ellen White said that the Godhead, the
personality of God and Christ is a pillar, landmark doctrine. How could that subject
be a PILLAR, LANDMARK DOCTRINE, and we are not even to discuss it? What is the
context of Ellen White's statement that we are not to debate the personality of
God? What is the little known weight of evidence on this issue?
Is it not strange that there are those who try to
BRING IN theories that would remove the pillars of our faith concerning the
Sanctuary or concerning THE PERSONALITY OF GOD OR CHRIST, but we are to know
nothing about the personality of God and Christ, and cannot discuss it? Does
that make sense?
Godhead as a
pillar doctrine --
Personality of God and of Christ Landmarks: "Those who seek to remove the
old landmarks are not holding
fast they are not remembering how they have received and heard. Those who try
to bring in theories that would remove the pillars
of our faith concerning the sanctuary or concerning the personality
of God or of Christ, are working as blind men. They are seeking
to bring in uncertainties and to set the people of God adrift without an
anchor." {MR760 9.5}
Ellen
White to Kellogg in the Alpha
"You are not definitely clear on
the personality of God, which is everything to us as a people.
You have virtually destroyed the Lord God Himself." EGW letter 300 1903.
Did you get that? THE PERSONALITY OF GOD IS
EVERYTHING TO US AS A PEOPLE, YET SOME LIKE BRYAN BISSELL ROBERT SESSLER AND
NICHOLAS PETULA ARE TEACHING THAT IT IS A MYSTERY UPON WHICH SILENCE IS GOLDEN!
They are making the foolish error of confounding the nature of the Holy
Spirit with the personality of God. We can know much about the personality
of God from the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy. We know that God is love. We
know that His law is a transcript of His character of self-scrificing
love. We know that He is subject to what He requires of man. We know His
history of dealing with man since the creation of man. That history reveals
much about His personality.
Ellen White warned not to get into debate with Kellogg
on the issue of the Godhead and the personality of God, because he was so
cunning and deceptive. She said she could not safely get into a discussion with
him because he was so devious of mind and would confuse things so badly. Thus
her statement that silence on the issue was golden when it came to debating or
discussing it with Kellogg! These other statements condoning the study and how
we might profit from it totally contradict the position of those who don't want
to know the truth on the issue and are disobedient apostates who cannot
understand it (spiritually discern it).
Remember, that in the Alpha, the MINISTERING
BRETHREN (NO LESS) were looking on but could not understand what Kellogg's
theories resulted in--the doing away with the Sanctuary/Atonement.
Sanctuary Gone Atonement Gone -- "In a
representation which passed before me, I saw a certain work being done by
medical missionary workers. Our ministering brethren were looking on, watching what
was being done, but they did not seem to understand. The foundation of our
faith, which was established by so much prayer, such earnest searching of the
Scriptures, was being taken down, pillar by pillar. Our faith was to have
nothing to rest upon--the sanctuary was gone, the atonement was gone."
E.G. White, The Upward Look, 152.
QUESTION FOR BRYAN
BISSELL AND THE DUMB-DOG WATCHMEN IN THE OMEGA: I'm going to ask
Bryan Bissell and all the kings men TODAY, to explain to us how and why
Kellogg's pantheism did away with the SANCTUARY AND THE ATONEMENT--RENDERED
THEM AS GONE. I know how and why? Does Bryan? Have they learned anything since
the Alpha of Apostasy?
We can know what Ellen White and the Bible tell
us of the personality of God. The context of Ellen White's statement saying we
should not debate the personality, is THE KELLOGG
ALPHA OF APOSTASY.
"No one can search the Scriptures in the
spirit of Christ without being rewarded. When man is willing to be instructed
as a little child, when he submits wholly to God, he will find the truth in His
word. If men would be obedient,
they would understand the plan of God's government. The heavenly world would
open its chambers of grace and glory for exploration. Human beings would be
altogether different from what they now are, for by exploring the mines of
truth men would be ennobled. The mystery of
redemption, THE INCARNATION OF CHRIST, His ATONING SACRIFICE, would not be as
they are now, vague in our minds. They would be not only better understood, but
altogether more highly appreciated." E.G.
White, Christ's Object Lessons, p. 114. Vol. 7a, p. 441.
"The Bible is a
treasure house of knowledge, and all who make this book their study, sinking
the shaft deep into the mine of truth, will exclaim, 'I behold wondrous things
out of thy word.' The INCARNATION of Christ is but dimly appreciated by many
students who have studied long in our schools. This subject should be and will
be better understood by all who in truth love Truth, and walk in the way of the
Lord. The experimental knowledge of this is as essential to sanctify daily as
to redeem." E.G. White, The Advocate, 05-01-99,
pr. 03.
Obviously, the disobedient apostates will not be
opened to the mystery of THE INCARNATION OF CHRIST, that
would be and SHOULD BE not only better understood, but altogether more highly
appreciated! Does this sound like the subject of the Incarnation is
FORBIDDEN GROUND? NOT TO THIS WRITER! By obedience and exploring of the mines
of truth involved with the Incarnation, men would be ennobled rather than
bigoted, narrow-minded foolish virgins who think they know it all already
without such obedience and study.
Incarnation --Satan would Mystify:
"This is a great mystery, a mystery that will not be fully, completely
understood in all its greatness until the translation of the redeemed shall
take place. Then the power and greatness and efficacy of the gift of God to man
will be understood. But the enemy is determined that this gift shall be so
mystified that it will become as nothingness." E.G. White, SDA Bible
Commentary, Vol. 7A, p. 444.
"As the worker studies the life of Christ, and the character of His mission is dwelt upon, each
fresh search will reveal something more deeply interesting than has yet been
unfolded. The subject is inexhaustible. The
study of the incarnation of Christ, His atoning sacrifice and mediatorial work, will employ the mind of the diligent
student as long as time shall last." Gospel Workers,
p. 251. SDA Bible Commentary, Vol. 7a, p. 444.
Wow! Each fresh search on the life of Christ and
the character of His mission, THE STUDY OF THE INCARNATION OF CHRIST,
HIS ATONING SACRIFICE AND MEDIATORIAL WORK, WILL EMPLOY THE MIND OF THE
DILIGENT STUDENT AS LONG AS TIME SHALL LAST!
"That God should thus be manifest in the flesh
is indeed a mystery and without the help of the holy spirit
we cannot hope to comprehend this subject. The
most humbling lesson that man has to learn is the nothingness of human wisdom,
and the folly of trying, by his own unaided efforts, to find out God."
E.G. White, SDA Bible Commentary, 7a, p. 444. Review and Herald
Articles, April 5, 1906.
The direct implication is that with the help of the
Holy Spirit, we can hope to comprehend new degrees of knowledge on this subject
which will employ the mind of the diligent student as long as time shall last.
What good would it do to not be able to understand and discuss a PILLAR,
LANDMARK DOCTRINE?
A Mysterious and
Tender Presence OR WHY IT DOES NO GOOD TO DISCUSS OR DEBATE THE
PERSONALITY OF GOD OR CHRIST WITH THE UNREGENERATE
The wind bloweth where
it listeth, and thou hearest
the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth:
so is every one that is born of the Spirit. John 3:8. {FLB 54.1}
The greatness of God is to
us incomprehensible. "The Lord's throne is in heaven" (Ps. 11:4); yet
by His Spirit He is everywhere present. He has an intimate knowledge of, and a
personal interest in, all the works of His hand. . . . {FLB 54.2}
It was the Maker of all
things . . . who created the human soul, with its capacity for knowing and for
loving. And He is not in Himself such as to leave the demands of the soul
unsatisfied. No intangible principle, no impersonal essence or mere abstraction,
can satisfy the needs and longings of human beings in this life of struggle
with sin and sorrow and pain. It is not enough to believe in law and force, in
things that have no pity, and never hear the cry for help. We need to know of
an almighty arm that will hold us up, of an infinite
Friend that pities us. We need to clasp a hand that is warm, to trust in a
heart full of tenderness. And even so God has in His Word revealed Himself.
{FLB 54.3}
Spiritual
things are spiritually discerned. The carnal mind cannot comprehend these
mysteries. . . . The worldly-wise have attempted to explain upon
scientific principles the influence of the Spirit of God upon the heart. The
least advance in this direction will lead the soul into the mazes of
skepticism. The religion of the Bible is simply the mystery of godliness; no
human mind can fully understand it, and it is utterly
incomprehensible to the unregenerate heart. {FLB
54.4}
The
nature of the Holy Spirit is a mystery. Men
cannot explain it, because the Lord has not revealed it to them. Men having
fanciful views may bring together passages of Scripture and put a human
construction on them; but the acceptance of these views will not strengthen the
church. Regarding such mysteries, which are too deep for human
understanding, silence is golden. {FLB 54.5}
We do not know the nature of the Holy Spirit
meaning its essence or substance. That is what Ellen White means about not
discussing the personality of the Holy Spirit and God. But we know what we are
told by the Bible and the Holy Spirit gift to the church via Ellen G.
White.
There are indeed mysteries to the subject of the
Godhead and the personality of God and Christ, that we
will study for eternity says Ellen White. However, we can see from all the weight
of evidence above that the obedient and regenerate hearts will fathom more of
the mysteries than others and the study of the Incarnation ennobles the mind
and gives a greater appreciation of the great sacrifice Christ made in His
Incarnation to FOREVER FORFEIT HIS FORMER HOLY SPIRIT ONLY EXISTENCE and divest
that existence from His human personality. It is Ellen White who tells us He
made that sacrifice. All we have to do is believe it.
The NATURE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD IS A MYSTERY:
Nature means the following. We don't know the fundamental qualities of God's
Holy Spirit. That is what we are not to debate! One cannot know enough about
PERSONALITY to discuss it intelligently without knowing the fundamental
qualities. But we can know and discuss what the Holy Spirit has given us to
KNOW AND UNDERSTAND and the obedient are given more than apostates who
rationalize their apostasy and/or deny that it even exists.
World English Dictionary
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nature (ˈneɪtʃə) |
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— n |
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1.
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the fundamental qualities of a person or
thing; identity or essential character |
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2.
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( often capital, esp
when personified ) the whole system of the existence, arrangement,
forces, and events of all physical life that are not controlled by man |
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3.
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all natural phenomena and plant and
animal life, as distinct from man and his creations |
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4.
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a wild primitive state untouched by man
or civilization |
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5.
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natural unspoilt scenery or countryside |
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6.
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disposition or temperament |
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7.
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tendencies, desires, or instincts
governing behaviour |
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8.
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the normal biological needs or urges of
the body |
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9.
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sort; kind; character |
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10.
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the real appearance of a person or thing:
a painting very true to nature |
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11.
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accepted standards of basic morality or
behaviour |
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12.
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biology Compare
nurture the
complement of genetic material that partly determines the structure of an
organism; genotype |
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13.
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( Irish ) sympathy and fondness
for one's own people or native place: she is full of nature |
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14.
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against nature unnatural
or immoral |
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15.
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by nature essentially
or innately |
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16.
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informal ,
euphemistic , jocular or call of nature the need
to urinate or defecate |
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17.
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from nature using
natural models in drawing, painting, etc |
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18.
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in the nature of ,
of the nature of essentially the same as; by way of |
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[C13: via Old French from Latin nātūra,
from nātus, past
participle of nascī to be
born] |
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![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](natureholyspirit_files/image001.gif){kind=small}
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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