Guidelines to the Understanding of Spirit Passages

Preliminary Points

Purpose of Holy Spirit Gifts

This is primarily a New Testament exposition because, generally speaking, the subject is largely self-explanatory in the Old Testament₁ and the current discussion surrounds the New Testament usage of the word. Also the Spirit is not dealt with as a theme until the New Testament.

We believe, however, that the Old₂ must be the basis of interpretation for the New. It is at this point that some have faltered and been led astray to another gospel. They come to the New Testament with an Evangelical bias, and impose such thinking upon the text where it does not exist.

According to Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary the English word "spirit" has eighteen separate meanings. It is one of very few English words which has that many. Naturally this fact contributes to the complexity of this subject and to the difficulty of communication. We may know perfectly well the meaning we intend but the reader or hearer may have assumed we are using another meaning. Add to this the fact that the Biblical meanings of "spirit" may not correspond to the English Dictionary meanings and we begin to realize the need for a careful exposition. There are also additional factors that need to be taken into consideration:

1. The Bible contains words "which the Holy Spirit teacheth". It is essential to understand that figures of speech such as metonymy and synecdoche are employed. We must understand the real sense (not the literal meaning) of these legitimate departures from the laws of language. Ignorance to the form in which "spirit" is used has led and can lead to the grossest of errors.
2. Centuries of theological dust have obscured and distorted this subject as well as related ones. As one would expect, the apostasy has its own definitions for words such as sin, grace, enlightenment, guidance, sanctification and faith. If we are to understand and be able to communicate about these subjects then we must know:
1. the meaning the Apostasy gives them.
2. why this meaning is invalid and
3. what the correct meaning is.

While keeping to the aim of this book, (as stated in the Preface) we must digress slightly from (iii) by expanding into areas (i) and (ii) if we are to give a comprehensive treatment of the subject of the Spirit. It was one of the pioneer brethren who stated that "we didn’t really believe the truth unless we could define it positively and negatively". It is for this reason that some of the general subjects₃ have been included. The "problem-solution" format has been employed occasionally in Section C for the same reason.

GUIDELINES TO THE UNDERSTANDING OF SPIRIT PASSAGES

Figures of speech

The Bible is full of figures of speech₁ and idioms₂. This is as true in the subject of the Holy Spirit as it is in subjects such as sin, wisdom, etc. When, therefore, we read "that the Spirit suffered them not" to go into a place we must not suppose the Spirit to be the intelligent source of the instruction, but that it was the agent (medium) used for the imparting to the understanding of the apostles what they should do. "The source of the instruction, was an intelligent mind and was not in the power by which it was transmitted₃."

The figure of speech used was "metonymy of the adjunct". This is when something pertaining to the subject (Spirit) is put for the subject itself (God or Angels or Christ.)

Context

A contextual interpretation of a verse is the only valid way. There are three considerations when looking at the context:

1. look at the O.T.₄ context if the passage contains a quotation from there
2. consider the immediate context. This may be one or two verses or chapters.
3. consider very carefully the historical context.

Consideration b) is illustrated in what follows and c) under the next heading.

Verses such as those below seem on the surface to indicate direct Spirit intervention on the hearts of those who believed. Careful examination, however, reveals alternate means of expression that suggest it was the result of the gospel plus miracles.

This point demonstrates the care that needs to be given to the context. Very often those who claim present possession string together seemingly supporting verses, but with total disregard for context₅ (as do churches to support their false doctrine.)

New Testament Background

In the New Testament times the immature ecclesia was vibrant with the constant knowledge that the exalted Christ moved omnipresently in their midst. The frequent miraculous visitations of the Spirit were visible tokens of that superintendence. For these awe struck congregations, the word "Spirit" would be understood primarily as the medium through which the Lord sent the miracles and revelations. It would not have meant an inwardly sanctifying influence₆.

Idiom

Along with these manifestations, local idioms and verbal clichés would have come into use to describe these phenomena. This variation of expression in localized areas is a common occurrence even today and does not even need to be demonstrated. The Lord would accommodate Himself to this variation₇ in His revelations and exhortations through the Christian prophets, just as He had done during His earthly ministry when in conversation with the "unlearned" Galileans on one hand, and with the "learned" ecclesiastics of Jerusalem on the other. This is undoubtedly one of the reasons why the style of so many of Christ’s discourses varies so much in the gospels. In the case of the epistles, the destination of the inspired messages would determine the Spirit’s choice of terminology.

Reasoning along these lines, it may not therefore necessarily be right to expect to find an undeviating uniformity of usage of the different Greek words and phrases relating to "spirit" in the New Testament: pneuma, to pneuma, pneuma hagion, to pneuma to hagion and other variants, which themselves are not even clearly and uniformly distinguished in translation. It is not surprising, either, that lexicologists have been unable to discover or invent a simple rule that could be applied right across the whole of the New Testament with regard to the uses of these particular words. Instead, expositors have had to bend, twist and contort New Testament usage in order to arrive at often highly dubious interpretations of important passages. The very large number of attempts that have been made at establishing a blanket rule is itself an indication of the difficulty, not to say the impossibility, of arriving at a universally satisfactory solution to the problem. It would, however, seem reasonable to expect uniformity of usage of the different Greek expressions for "spirit" within the space of a single inspired book of the New Testament. The Lord would not confuse His terms or His readers, even though at this distant point in time, we may not immediately appreciate any contextual variations.

The word "spirit" is the New Testament word par excellence. While this treatise elsewhere attempts to explore the subtle overtones of meaning which this word carries, perhaps it may not be too much of a simplification to summarize thus:

The use of different words in the various Epistles of Paul such as "grace" in Romans and "spiritual" gifts in Corinthians is therefore to be explained on the basis of local idiom and clichés. We must not try to see doctrinal differences where only cultural ones exist.

Translations

Doctrinal bias is to be found in most translations in areas where the "church" is apostate. This is evident to most Bible students on such subjects as hell, the devil, the supposed pre-existence of Christ, personality of the Holy Spirit, etc. Doctrinal bias in the various translations is particularly evident in most Bibles on the subject of the Spirit₈. This is to be expected as the translators believe Plato’s teachings. Very imprecise renderings, for example, are made of the genitive case in such passages as 2 Cor. 13:14; Gal. 3:14.

The difference in result because of this bias may seem small on the surface, but it assumes major proportions when carefully examined. When a study of the Spirit is undertaken using the NEB as the main translation, the result can only end in error.₉

Spirit and Holy Spirit

It is often₁₀ argued by those claiming present possession of the Spirit that God’s "spirit" is holy and, therefore, where we see "spirit of Christ", "spirit of God", we should read "Holy Spirit" and understand by this a mysterious influence "working inner righteousness, peace and joy in the true believers’ heart".

Solution:

1. If this is the case then where we see "holy" Spirit the word holy is quite redundant.
2. What about the "evil spirit" of Saul and the "lying spirit" of Micaiah’s parable to Ahab? Was that holy too?
3. To clinch this, however, consider the passage -
   "If God were to withdraw His Spirit ... all flesh would perish together."
   If the above idea is pressed, then all mankind and animals have the ‘holy’ Spirit and to give it in the first century was to give something already possessed.

Conclusion

The Bible is not a cheap novel. It is the revelation of God by the Spirit. In a subject as exalted as this it is especially necessary to consider:

• the figures of speech
• the context (both immediate and historical)
• the translator’s bias,

when interpreting a verse of this revelation. Salvation is the work of God through the Holy Spirit, both in the power that the Word has to change our mind and in providential guidance administered by the angels.

The character formed by these interacting forces is called "spiritual" because it is in harmony with God’s mind.

PRELIMINARY POINTS

1. Compliance with the written word of God is all that we are required to do for salvation.

   This point is in contrast to the belief that a possession of the Holy Spirit is necessary before we can overcome sin. The Bible continually stresses that the Word itself is sufficient to do this. This is evident from the following verses:

   "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to Thy word. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee... I will never forget Thy precepts: for with them hast Thou quickened me" (Psalms 119:9,11, 93).

   "The words I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life. But there are some of you that believe not" (John 6:63-64).

   "If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:31, 32).

   "You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you" (John 15:3).

   Jesus did not say that the eleven were clean by the Spirit because it was the word spoken, understood, believed, and obeyed which was the quickening and cleansing power:

   "Sanctify them (Apostles) through Thy truth: Thy word is truth" (John 17:17).

   Here is the fundamental plainly revealed; it is the truth of God that gradually brings about our sanctification. And this Truth has come to us through the Word. The "Word" is the teaching from God through His prophets.

   "And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified" (Acts 20:32). (Note that at this time the Holy Spirit was possessed by the ecclesial shepherds (v.28)).

   "The gospel of Christ... is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth" (Rom. 1:16).

   "Christ gave himself for the ecclesia that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word" (Eph. 5:26).

   "The holy scriptures... are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus".

   "All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works". (2 Tim.3:15-17).

   "Being born again... by the word of God" (1 Pet.1:23 cf. 2 Pet. 3:2).

As we can see, no additional "Spirit" is necessary, nor is it apparent anywhere today. The process of sanctification is one of understanding the word, receiving it and acting upon it.

There is no need to see this compliance as "salvation by works"₁. It is no such thing. Salvation is contingent on two things:

Because these things are revealed in the word and we find them out by reading; can hardly be described as "salvation by works". (Opening ‘our hearts to let God work in us’ could also be described as salvation by works!! Since we had to open our hearts!)

2. "Platonism, in postulating a spirit which has an immaterial influence on the mind alters the meaning of the word, making God’s power a means by which God ‘thinks’ into the mind of man, rather than a power breathed into the nostrils, or forming words heard by ears. It should be remembered that God did not create a living soul by thinking into his (Adam’s) mind the spirit of life, but by breathing into his nostrils."₄
3. Paul begins his discussion of the spirit gifts by making reference to the fact that there was so called ‘possessions’ in the heathen world, where priests in excited frenzy claimed to be controlled by the god at whose shrine they officiated. The Corinthians had come to know that idols were dumb and could possess no one. Paul mentions this so that they would bear in mind there was such a thing as pseudo possession, and that there could be a similar fraudulent claim in their own midst. He then gave them a way in which they could test claimants to determine which were false₅.
4. "The Spirit may be exercised on our behalf, but it is not a verifiable fact as in the Spirit operations of the early churches. It is not subject to our wills, for it works beyond our conscious knowledge. To speak, therefore, of divine operations (indirectly through the ways of providence) as a possession of the spirit is a misuse of words!"₆
5. To claim that only the miraculous part of the Spirit ceased, is to disagree with the record.

Paul said the gifts would cease. Not only would the gift of tongues cease, but also the gift of knowledge (which is sometimes wrongly assumed to be non-miraculous₈). The pattern of things in the first century was for all gifts to work together for the well being of the ecclesia. We have no instruction of any other pattern. The Spirit is the power of God₉. Power is something manifest₁₀. If brethren have the Holy Spirit they would reveal its power in some form. But they do not! Those who claim to speak in tongues, for example, merely repeat the error that Pentecostals and other false claimants have always exhibited. They do not and cannot speak in foreign languages that they have not learned. They merely regurgitate gibberish. (See The Gift of Tongues in Section D for more evidence).

6. "Spirit" and "Holy Spirit" are used in various senses₁₁ and this must be kept in mind when interpreting various verses.
   1. God’s Spirit in Every Believer
      This was true in both Old Testament and New Testament times and does not refer to the possession of the Holy Spirit. This spiritual life comes indirectly from God through:
      1) a daily feeding on the word ("spiritual milk", NASB) with meditation and prayer (1 Pet. 2:2-5),
      2) the action of the angels in our lives (Heb. 1:14).

      This develops within us a spirit (attitude) in harmony with God’s mind. This result is known as the "spirit of God, God in us, Christ in us, Christ dwelling in the heart by faith".

   2. The Holy Spirit Gifts
      This was a power₁₂ conferred directly upon the individual which enabled others to see that he had something they didn’t, whether in
      1) doing signs (Moses and the plagues; also 1 Cor. 12).
      2) speaking with boldness and authority (John the Baptist, Luke 3:3-20).
      3) being guided in wisdom (Bezaleel, Ex. 31:2, 3).
      4) building up the ecclesia₁₃

   3. Holy Spirit in Future Operation
      1 Cor. 15:23 resurrection.
      Heb. 6:4, 5 "powers of the world to come".

   4. The Spirit of Man
      i.e. "The spirit indeed is willing" (Matt. 26:41). By the figure metonymy, (of the effect) spirit (attitude) is put for the cause producing it (mind).

7. Faith and Justification.

   - "without faith it is impossible to please God". (Heb. 11:6).
   - "Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God". (Rom. 10:17).

   If faith was not a response to what God has revealed, it could not provide a basis for justification which is forgiveness of sins. If faith were divinely bestowed, then since justification is predicated upon faith₁₄; the very condition to which God reacts with pleasure would not be anything in a man but God’s own act! If a man did not have any faith, God could not punish him for this because it would be God’s fault - not man’s - if there was any lack.

8. A More Excellent Way.

   Paul clearly points out that even though a person did not possess the Spirit, he could be better than the possessor of even the best gifts. The "more excellent way" of 1 Cor. 13 or "Agape" is something better than the best gifts of the Spirit₁₅. The absence of this love nullified any benefit the Spirit gifts conferred₁₆.

   • To speak with tongues when "love" was absent, was like the clanging of metal in one of the brass foundries of a city, or the clanging of cymbals of the priestesses of Cybele.
   • Even the gift of "prophecy" and the gifts of "faith" and "knowledge", if love were absent, were of no value.
   • Almsgiving and martyrdom alike were empty shows and unprofitable if not springing from Agape.

   Paul’s discourse on Agape is part of his argument showing the limitations of the various manifestations of the Spirit. The manifestations were only part of a temporary₁₇ arrangement and therefore not essential for salvation.

9. The Spirit was not for the personal benefit of the possessor but for revealing salvation and for edification of the ecclesia.
   1. For Christ to have yielded to His thoughts and turned stones to bread to satisfy His hunger would have been sin.
   2. Paul desired to have his "thorn in the flesh" removed but was told "the Grace of God is sufficient for thee" (2 Cor. 12:9).
   3. Paul says that he came behind none of the Corinthians in the gifts of the Spirit, (2 Cor. 11:5; 12:11) yet he was among the Corinthians "in weakness and in fear, and in much trembling" (1 Cor. 2:3).
   4. "Epaphroditus was sick nigh unto death" to assist Paul (Phi1. 2:25-30).
   5. Timothy had stomach problems. (1 Tim. 5:23). The cure was not a working of a miracle, but wine.
   6. Paul left "Trophimus... at Miletum sick" (2 Tim. 4:20).

Conclusion

These points clearly demonstrate that the traditional Christadelphian teaching about the Spirit is the Biblical one.

The following statements briefly summarize the facts:

The first three statements above are simple and generally agreed upon. The fourth is not difficult but it may not be readily apparent. In fact it may take as long to demonstrate as other Scriptural subjects which are wrested (such as ‘hell’, ‘Satan’).

In considering any exposition of scripture, one principle must be kept clearly in mind: Any interpretation that fails to harmonize all the testimonies of the Holy Scripture must be rejected. This may be illustrated on the subject of the Spirit in the following example.

1. "It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail;
2. The words that I have spoken to you are Spirit and life." (John 6:63 RSV)

Some, upon reading A., will lapse into describing their experience of being saved and of being guided directly by the Spirit. In so doing, they belittle (unconsciously perhaps) any need for doctrine or laws of Christ and the need to study and to assimilate the teaching of the Word of God. As may be seen from reading B. this interpretation rips the sentence from its immediate context and gives it a meaning altogether foreign to the Scripture.

Perhaps the key to most of the misunderstanding is the fact that "providential control of a man’s life is one thing, and the gift of the Holy Spirit is another and quite different thing₁₈." Those who argue for present possession fail to see the distinction.

The idea of "present possession of the Holy Spirit" was strenuously repelled, rebutted and formally rejected a hundred years ago by Bro. Thomas, in no uncertain terms: and it has raised its head somewhere in the ecclesias in every generation since. This is not surprising when this false, but self-satisfying, conceit characterizes every shade of the Apostasy around us, notwithstanding their common claim to the Truth. This dangerous doctrine generally leads to the embracing of other₁₉ apostate doctrines that deny and destroy the truth.

Those who claim present possession of the Spirit declare (as the apostate Roman Church and the Evangelicals declare) "that because the Bible is a spiritual book given by a Spiritual Being, it cannot be understood purely by natural reason. It can, therefore, only be understood with the help of direct guidance from God Himself. This guidance is not, however, given through the Church (as the Romans claim) but to the individual by prayer. Since this is the case, those who have not the Spirit can never understand spiritual things"₂₀.

To declare this is to say that the Bible is an unreasonable book and is useless without a second ingredient - divinely given private "enlightenment". This, of course, is unacceptable reasoning (cf. 2 Tim. 3:15-17).

It should be realized that passages which seem to demonstrate that "possession of the Holy Spirit is timeless, have a very definite reference, either to the Apostolic days or to the Kingdom - NEVER to the present₂₁ ."

However, we should be very grateful that we have through the instrumentality of the Holy Spirit-guided men of the past a much greater gift in our hands - the Spirit inspired Word of God.

THE PURPOSE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT GIFTS

1. The final witness against Judaism.

   - Jesus developed this witness on several occasions, one of which is in Matt. 23:
   

   "Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites..."

   - the apostles through the Holy Spirit were to complete this witness₁.
   

   "I will send him (Comforter) to you. He will convict the (Jewish) world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgement: ... because the ruler of this world (Jewish) has been judged (condemned)" (John 16:7-11).

   The Acts of the Apostles records this witness being carried out and the Apostles being persecuted for it.

2. The establishing of the new doctrine about Christ Jesus.

   The Mosaic things had now fulfilled their purpose but it needed the convincing power of the Holy Spirit to satisfy devout Jews of this. The Spirit enabled the apostles to be infallible teachers.
   

   "The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you." (John 14:26).

   The miracles that the Apostles performed and their ability to out-argue their opponents, caused believers to be "added to the Lord" in multitudes.

3. The preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles.

   The Holy Spirit made it much easier for the truth to spread throughout the pagan Roman world.
   

   "But the Jews who disbelieved stirred up the minds of the Gentiles... Therefore they spent a long time there speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord, who was bearing witness to the word of His grace, granting that signs and wonders be done by their hands." (Acts 14:3).

   The result had its effect because after this "some sided ... with the apostles". (v.4)

4. Edification of the Ecclesia.
   "For the equipping of the saints, for the work of service to the building up of the body of Christ." (Eph. 4:12).

5. A foretaste of the future.
   "The Holy Spirit of promise... is given as a pledge of our inheritance." (Eph. 1:14).
   "Those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come..." (Heb. 6:4,5).

The purpose was fulfilled

Once the Jewish "world" was destroyed in AD 70 then need (1) was completed. When the new doctrine was written₂ and the book of Revelation completed the scriptures, then need (2) ceased. Once ecclesias were established from Jerusalem to Rome, then purpose (3) was completed. (See Col. 1:21-23).

In these last days when there is no open vision and no miracles wrought by Spirit gifted brethren, it would be unreasonable to expect a "foretaste of the future".

We might, therefore, expect some indication from Scripture that this aspect of the Holy Spirit was nearing completion. We find this in the words of Paul.

1 Cor. 13:10 demonstrates that the manifestations of the Holy Spirit mentioned in 1 Cor. 12 "will be done away", i.e. when the canon was completed.

John (the last living Apostle) died at the close of the first century. The youngest of those on whom he laid his hands would, by the middle of the second century be getting old, ready to die. When these died, there would be no mortal left who had the Holy Spirit.

The following summarizes the facts:

1. The early ecclesia did have the Holy Spirit as a vital necessity.
2. Paul said it would be withdrawn.
3. There is no evidence of its possession after the middle of the second century.
4. The claim to possess it today is baseless.
5. It is no use saying, "we admit we cannot work miracles." The Holy Spirit was always evidenced by power in some way, either healing, or tongues, or interpretation of tongues, or revelations. None of these is in evidence despite claims to the contrary.
6. Paul says these were "The powers of the age to come" and will be in abundant evidence when the Lord returns.
7. The Truth has survived longer with the Scriptures than it did with the gifts (about 150 years compared to 70).

Negative aspects

Most pagan religions taught salvation by some kind of mystical cleansing, rather than by forgiveness of sins through a mediator and belief in a word. Generally the pagan believed he had an immaterial soul or spirit within them which could receive from its divine origins₃ a regeneration.

It seems that Moses, Agur (from Northern Arabia) and Paul were counteracting this pagan influence. Note the words of Paul.₄

Paul also describes the process of righteousness leading to salvation.

Paul is saying in effect that the steps are:

1. belief in the words of the gospel.
2. confession of sins (so that God may justify us) with our mouths.

Salvation is by faith in the word of God, not by some mystical entrance of a gift of righteousness into our hearts. The two are mutually exclusive. The former is the "power of God unto salvation"; the latter is the philosophy of pagans.