Here we are in a
wonderful world, a glance at our surroundings impresses us with the greatness,
the fearfulness and the marvelous wisdom manifested in creation. Mystery! mystery! everywhere; and there is
system, there is design, all inviting observation, investigation and the most
profound exercise of thought and reason. An effect is traced to its cause; that
cause proves to be another effect to be traced to another cause; all the
effects and all the causes carry the mind backward and backward and refuse to
give satisfaction till we have reached an ultimate cause, equal in power and in
wisdom to the production of all causes and effects; and there the finite mind
must stop because it has reached the infinite. It must stop and bow its head
reverently, impressed with the thought that the Great Infinite, who could
produce the wonders of the finite, has the right and the might to forbid
further pursuit. Shall the finite complain in the presence of a thousand
mysteries in its own permitted domain because the Author of the finite limits
its intellectual powers, and, upon its attempt to penetrate the illimitable
sphere of the Infinite, declares, "Stand back! thus far shalt thou go and no farther?" or shall the
finite refuse to believe in the Infinite because it cannot understand the mode
of His existence, when in the realms of its own domains it finds facts to
behold and yet not to be understood? To reason, the very wonders of the finite
world are facts which become a promise from which it is irresistibly forced to
the conclusion that the Infinite IS, and that all creation is the marvelous
work of His almighty hand.
Where there is law
there must be a law-maker, a law-giver. Where there is design there must be a
designer; for the one without the other is unthinkable, just as is effect
without cause. And the fact that some things are thinkable and some are not thinkable, is of itself another proof that the finite
creature is the product of the Infinite Creator. Limit, limit, everywhere is
characteristic of things finite, and limit declares the existence of a
Being having the right and the might to limit. Reason stands as an
ever-watchful sentinel and forbids doubt ever questioning that the mighty
forces in the heavens above and the earth beneath are the products of wisdom,
power and goodness. Wisdom cries out to her children, who re-echo her words and
send them reverberating through the vault of heaven, THERE IS A GOD, while
folly is flattered by fools who jabber, "There is no God."
Who but the fool can
say "There is no God," when confronted with the majesty and might and
beauty and fearfulness of creation? To everyone but the fool
"The
spacious firmament on high,
With all the blue, ethereal sky,
And spangled heavens--a shining frame.
Their Great Original proclaim.
The ungoverned sun from day to day,
Doth his Creator’s power display,
And publishes to every land,
The work of an Almighty hand."
But reason asks, Is there nothing to satisfy and gratify the finite mind
beyond the horizon of this ephemeral life? Can this great world of many woes
and wants be the end? or is it a means to an end? It
cannot be that this fickle, fleeting life is all that is possible as a reward
to Reason for reverence before the Great Infinite Creator whom she prays to
lift the veil of mystery and open to view the glories which she thinks must
shine in resplendent beauty beyond this vale of tears and death. While nature
declares there is a God, her lips are closed in stolid silence and
seemingly in a tantalizing disregard of Reason’s request. But He who is the
author of this stupendous thing we call nature is found to be also the author
of a Book--yea The Book, whose lids fly open and expose to the anxious
view of the diligent seeker the words, "The heavens declare the glory of
God; and the firmament showeth His handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and
night unto night showeth knowledge. * * * The law of the Lord is perfect,
converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandments of
the Lord are pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean,
enduring forever; the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous
altogether"--Psa. 19: 1, 9.
In this book reason is
appealed to in words whose force is irresistible. The question is asked,
"He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? He that formed the eye, shall
he not see? He that chastiseth the heathen, shall he not correct? He that
teacheth man knowledge, shall he not know?" (Psa. 94: 9,
10). Study the delicate formation of the eye and be convinced that it
was designed to be the organ of sight, from which it follows that the Infinite
Designer possessed the power of sight before He conceived and formed the organ
of sight in the creature. The same is true of the ear and of the brain, the
seat of thought. In the possession of the faculties of hearing, of sight, and
of mind we are enabled to examine the wonderful open Book, and the finite mind
becomes satisfied to look, though for the present as "through a glass,
darkly," because there is a future revealed therein whose dawn will bring
the glorious light in all its fullness. In the meantime its Author extends to
us the invitation, "Come and let us reason together," and the book
declares that "He that cometh to God must believe that he is. and that he is rewarder of them that diligently seek
him"--Heb. 11: 6.
THERE IS BUT ONE GOD
The question is asked,
"Canst thou by searching find out God? Canst thou find out the Almighty to
perfection?" (Job 11: 7). We must indeed search in vain; but he has been
pleased to reveal Himself to us as far as it is His good pleasure that we shall
know Him now; and this is as far as finite minds can comprehend. To the extent
that He has revealed Himself in the revelation of His purpose in the earth, we
are required to know Him and trust in Him; for salvation is predicated upon
this knowledge. Jesus says, "This is life eternal, that they may know thee
the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent" (John 17: 3).
This knowledge is required because without it idolatry is almost certain in one
form or another. A fundamental command is: "Thou shalt have no other gods
before me" (Ex. 20: 3). His unity therefore is the first thing to be
observed. Heathenism has multiplied its gods; and a perverted Christianity has
made such a compromise between the teaching of Revelation of the oneness of God
and the heathen "many gods" as to invent a theory which it claims to
be too mysterious for the comprehension of its inventors, and they have called
it "The Trinity." There was no way of escaping the clear declaration
of Scripture that there is but one God; and pagans seem to have found it
impossible to rid their minds of all their gods, so they retained the idea of
three, but to suit scripture phraseology they declared it to be a threeness in
a oneness--three to suit paganism, and yet only one, to suit
Bible words. This compromise, wherein "many gods" are reduced to
three and called a "Trinity," is no less idolatry than was the old
fiction of heathenism. The oneness of God without any compromise with an
invented threeness is clearly set forth in the following passages:
Deut.
II. Sam.
Isa. 43: 10-12--Ye are
my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen; that ye may
know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God
formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the Lord; and besides me
there is no Saviour.
Is. 46: 9--Remember the
former things of old; for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there
is none like me.
Is. 44: 6--Thus saith
the Lord, the King of Israel, and his redeemer, the Lord of Hosts; I am the
first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.
Mark 12: 29--And Jesus
answered him, The first of all the commandments is,
Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.
John 17: 3--And this is
life eternal, that they may know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom
thou hast sent.
I. Cor. 8: 4, 6--As
concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice
to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none
other God but one. For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven
or in earth (as there be gods many and lords many), but to us there is but one
God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we by Him.
Eph. 4: 4-6--There is
one body, and one spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all,
and through all, and in you all.
Gal. 3: 20--Now a
mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.
I. Tim. 2: 5--For there
is one God, and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.
These passages entirely
exclude the thought of there being three persons in one God. The oft repeated
words of modern Christians, "God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy
Ghost," can be made to mean nothing else but three Gods, and the accepted
Athanasian creed declares the co-equality and co-eternity of the three. If this
does not mean three separate Gods, how can the comparison of
"co-equality" or "co-eternity" be
made between them? One can understand how a plurality of persons can be one in
office, purpose, aim and object. In such a case any one of the three would be a
separate personality, capable of acting separately and thinking separately, but
to apply this as a comparison with the Trinity would force the conclusion of
three distinct Gods, and that they are one only in purpose; and then how could
one of these say, "Beside me there is no God?" How could one of them
address another in the words, "This is life eternal, that they may know
thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent?" If
there were three co-equals one could no more have "sent" one of the
others than one of the others could have "sent" the one; and for one
to tell another that He was the "only true God" was either to refuse
to countenance the existence of the third ("God the Holy Ghost") or
to imply that though he was "God very God," he was not a "true
God"; for only one is declared to be the "true God."
NO MYSTERY IN THE
TRINITY
Trinitarians say that
the Father is co-equal, the son co-equal, and the Holy Ghost co-equal; and
consistently with this, they use the phrase, "three persons." If
there are "three persons," and if each one is co-equal with each one
of the other two, there are three co-equal persons, and we cannot say there is
only one person. If any one of the three persons is God (either
Father, Son or Holy Ghost), then there are three personal Gods, and
three personal Gods cannot be one personal God. When Trinitarians name the
three as "God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost," and
then say "yet not three but one," and then cry out "Mystery,
mystery!" mystery becomes a word to hide folly; for there is no mystery
when three co-equals are named and then it is declared there is only one, it is
a palpable absurdity and a flagrant perversion of language. "Father, Son
and Holy Ghost" are spoken of in the Bible, but not "God the Father,
God the Son and God the Holy Ghost." As to what the Son and the Spirit are,
we shall find the scriptures clear when we come to examine these under their
proper headings. But since the testimonies given establish beyond question that
God is one we must accept this as a settled fact; and be assured that nothing
in the scriptures will be found to really contradict it.
THE PERSONALITY OF
THE ONE GOD
The omnipresence of
Deity is difficult to understand consistent with the idea of his being a
personality, but what great truth is there without difficulties for finite
minds to understand? That God has a dwelling place and is therefore localized
is evident from the following testimonies. Solomon at the dedication of the temple, prays: "And hearken thou to the supplication of
thy servant, and of thy people
GOD’S OMNIPRESENCE
Now this localization
of God, which implies his personality, is not in conflict with his
omnipresence. He is everywhere by means of his Spirit, which radiates from his
august presence and pervades the universe. Hence the psalmist asks,
"Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither
shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there! if I make my bed in hell (sheol), behold, thou art
there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of
the sea, even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold
me" (Ps. 139: 7, 10). The sun is located in the heavens above; but
he is present here by his rays and the rays of the sun are an extension of the
sun itself; a fact which in no way conflicts with his localization as a great
body of focalized light. This helps the mind to understand, in measure, how God
can be a being having a "dwelling place," and yet be everywhere by
His spirit flowing out from himself. The idea that God is without personality
and that He is a diffusion of spirit everywhere as much as anywhere is not in
harmony with the revelation that God has been pleased to give of Himself.
It is not revealed as
to what part of the universe is His "dwelling place." He "dwells
in light unapproachable" by mortal man; and doubtless that light is the
grand center of the mighty universe and around which all the planets revolve.
NO MAN HATH SEEN GOD
In many parts of the
Scriptures God is spoken of as having been seen and conversed with; yet Jesus
says, "No man hath seen God at any time" (John
God is therefore one
and invisible; dwelling in heaven, in light unapproachable, whom no mortal man
hath seen or can see, and He is omnipresent and omniscient by His spirit which
flows out from His glorious presence and fills immensity.
God is immortal, from
all eternity and to all eternity. "God is a spirit, and they that worship
Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth" (John
He is holy; therefore
men should strive to be like Him as nearly as it is possible for the finite to
be like the Infinite; for He says, "I am the Lord, your Holy One, the
Creator of Israel, your King" (Is. 43: 15). And of Him it is said,
"Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on
iniquity" (Hab.
He is just; therefore
men should strive to do justly in all things, for "He is the Rock; his
work is perfect, for all His ways are judgment; a God of truth and without
iniquity; just and right is He" (Deut. 32: 4). "Doth God pervert
judgment? or doth the Almighty pervert justice?"
(Job 8: 3).
He is a God of love;
therefore men should love Him with all their hearts; for "he that loveth
not, knoweth not God; for God is love" (
He is good; therefore
"O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good; for His mercy endureth
forever" (
"Thou
the great, eternal God,
Art high above our thoughts:
Worthy to be feared, adored--
By all Thy hands have wrought.
None can with Thyself compare,
Thy glory fills the earth and sky;
We, and all thy creatures, are
As nothing in thine eye."
THE SPIRIT OF GOD
We have already seen
that the spirit of God is everywhere. By it he is omnipresent, and by it he
upholds the universe; as the rays of the sun are an extension of the sun
itself, so God being a spirit, his spirit is an extension of himself in various
forms according as he wills. The fixed laws of nature teach us that all things
are governed by one Great Mind which is in communication with every part of the
mighty universe. That mind is God, "out of whom all things have been
evolved." Wonderful it is, of course, but the wonder is in measure
lessened by revelation. The apostle Paul eloquently cries out, "O the
depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how
unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! for who hath known the mind of the Lord? or
who hath been his counselor? or who hath first given
to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him (ek anton--out of him), and through him, and to him,
are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen" (Rom.
Without presuming to
venture too far into the marvelous works of Deity by reason alone, we can
safely follow the paths of revelation. That which has been done by Deity
through his spirit we may get a faint idea of from the following scriptures:
Gen. 1: 2--And the
earth was without form and void: and darkness was upon the face of the deep.
And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light, and there was light.
Ps. 104: 30--Thou
sendest forth thy spirit, they are created; and thou renewest the face of the
earth.
Job 26: 13--By his
spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent.
Ps, 33: 6--By the word
of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of
his mouth.
Job 33: 4--The spirit
of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.
Ps. 36: 9--For
with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.
Job 12: 10--In those
hands is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.
Is. 42: 5--God giveth
breath unto the people upon the earth, and spirit to them that walk therein.
Ps. 51: 12--Restore
unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
From these testimonies
we learn that all things are evolved out of Deity’s spirit, that his "free
spirit" is the substratum of all things, the medium of life of every
creature. Since Deity’s "free spirit" flows out from himself as the
This "free
spirit" is the vital force of all forms of life. In some men it is
susceptible of being centered and focused by extraordinary will power, a fact
which is to be seen in the art of mesmerism, hypnotism, and what is called
spiritualism. For these phenomena we need look no further than the spirit of
the flesh, that spirit by which creatures live and move and have their being;
and which enables them to perform the various functions of life. But if God were to "gather unto himself his spirit and his
breath, all flesh would perish together, and man would turn again unto
dust" (Job 34: 14).
THERE IS BUT ONE
SPIRIT
It is evident that
there is but one spirit, though its forms of manifestation are innumerable.
Hence we read, "Now there are diversities of gifts; but the same
spirit" (
HOLY SPIRIT NOT A
PERSON
That the "Holy
Spirit" is not the third person of a trinity is evident from the following
scriptures:
Matt. 3: 11--I indeed
baptize you with water unto repentance; but he that cometh after me is mightier
than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy
Spirit, and with fire.
Luke
John 1: 33--Upon whom
thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining upon him, the same is he
which baptizeth with the Holy Spirit.
John 14: 26--But the
Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he
shall teach you all things, etc.
John
Acts 1: 1, 2--* * * Of
all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which he was taken
up, after that he through the Holy Spirit had given commandments unto the
apostles whom he had chosen.
Acts 1: 5--For John
truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not
many days hence.
Verse 8--But ye shall
receive power after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you.
Verse 16--Men and
brethren, this Scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit
by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas.
Acts 2: 33--Therefore
being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the
promise of the Holy Spirit, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.
Verse 38--Ye shall
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 4: 8--Then Peter,
filled with the Holy Spirit, said unto them, etc.
Acts
Acts
These passages are
examples of how the Holy Spirit is spoken of in the New Testament. It is:
1. That with which
persons are baptized.
2. That which is the
means by which God reveals his will to men.
3. That which descends
upon men on special occasions in bearing witness of important truths.
4. That which is sent
to comfort and help the memory of those who were specially appointed to be
witnesses of the work, death and resurrection of Christ.
5. That which is
imparted to the disciples by Jesus breathing on them.
6. That through which
Jesus is said to have given commandments unto his
apostles.
7. That by means of
which the apostles were to receive power.
8. That which inspired
David and all the prophets of old.
9. That which Jesus
received according to promise and which was "shed forth" upon
the apostles.
10. That with which God
anointed Jesus.
11. That which was
"poured out" upon the Gentiles of the house of Cornelius.
12. That with which
many were filled as a means of imparting to the recipients miraculous gifts.
Now if the Holy Spirit
be viewed as the effluence proceeding from God and the vehicle of his power to
men, these facts are easily understood; but if one has in mind a "third
person" who is God along with two other persons, it is impossible to
understand the passages given. How could persons be baptized with Holy Spirit
if it were a person? If, however, it is spirit in diffusion, we can understand
how baptism can take place in it or with it as easily as we can understand
baptism with, or in, water and with fire. If fire or water were a person it
would be absurd to speak of being "baptized with fire," and "with
water."
Then, again, "God
anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit." That
with which anointing takes place must be in diffusion, capable of being poured
out. Hence the Holy Spirit is said to have been "poured out,"
and "shed forth." This too implies that it is subject to the will and
power of the one who "pours" or "sheds" it forth. So likewise when it is said to be "sent" and
"received" and "breathed." It is shown to be a means
under the control of One who has the power to
"send" it, to "breathe" it, to "pour" it and
"shed" it forth. The results of all this are
"gifts" of various kinds, and enlightenment from God, from one Mind
which controls all. The very thought of three co-equals performing various
parts by their own volition renders all confusion. But if Jesus was subject to
God, and the Holy Spirit an effluence emanating from Him under the power of His
will, there being only one supreme will begetting, guiding and controlling in
the work of redemption, then we may repeat with the greatest emphasis possible
the words of our Lord, "This is life eternal, that they may know thee the
ONLY TRUE GOD, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." We may say that
whatever Deity does he does by his power; but power can only be
exercised and manifested by or through a medium, a vehicle. God being
omnipresent by means of his spirit flowing out from his personal presence, his
power is universal in upholding all things in the natural world. For the
performance of a work that is supernatural and sacred the same spirit by special
concentration of the divine will becomes Holy Spirit for the holy or sacred
work determined to be done. When Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit as a
Comforter, he surely did not intend us to understand that one person intended sending
another person to take the first person’s place. But God having
given Jesus the Holy Spirit without measure, had thereby imparted it to him
with authority and power to impart it to others, making it subject to his will
as well as to his Father’s will. When Jesus fulfilled his promise the Comforter
came by being "poured out" and "shed forth." It was caused
to pervade the persons to whom it was given, influencing their minds in
refreshing their memories and in inspiring their tongues to speak divine truth.
Who will say that these results were the work of one person who had taken the
place of the other who had, for the time, left his followers? Is it not that
the One God, from whom all blessings flow, imparted power to His only begotten
Son, and the Son, who owes his existence to and is, and always will be,
subordinate to the Father imparted it to his faithful followers, the Spirit of
God being the effluence, influence, or vehicle, through which the
"power" or "gifts" were transmitted? Thus it will be seen
that Jesus was God’s offspring by means of his power through his Holy Spirit,
and therefore he was God manifested in the flesh by the Spirit. Thus "God
was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself," and Jesus thereby being
the Father in manifestation by the Spirit became the One (not three)
"name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit;" and so it
could be said of him, "Neither is there salvation in any other; for there
is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be
saved."--Acts
In conclusion then we
may safely say:
1. That when the Holy
Spirit is spoken of as that with which people were baptized, it was the Spirit
of God under the divine will through Christ, enveloping and overwhelming the
subjects within its halo.
2. That when it is spoken
of as the means of revelation to men, it is the vehicle which conveys the One
Mind of One God to the minds of men, and not that one of three Gods by his
volition performs a work specially in which the other two are not engaged
except indirectly.
3. That when the Holy
Spirit is said to descend upon men, it is not a personality that so descends,
but an unction from the Father, compared in the Scriptures to the "early
and the latter rain" descending upon the earth.
4. That the Holy Spirit
is not a person, that is in any sense a "Comforter," more than, or
different from, or separate from, God, but is the means by which God in special
cases, sometimes through Christ, so influences the minds of his people as to
fill them with joy and strength and courage for the performance of work of a
special and extremely difficult character.
5. That for Jesus to
breathe upon his disciples and to say, "Receive ye the Holy Spirit,"
was not an act of introducing to them a third person; but a means of enthusing
their whole beings with an extraordinary thrill of life and courage, such as
was needed to bear them up under the severe trials awaiting them.
6. That for Jesus to
give commandments through the Holy Spirit was not for one "co-equal"
to command by the authority of another "co-equal;" but it was that
Jesus received all his instructions, power and authority from the Father by
inspiration, the Holy Spirit being the means of bringing his mind en rapport
with the mind of his Father. Therefore as he said, his words were not his, but
the Father’s who sent him.
7. When the apostles
are said to have received the power of the Holy Spirit, it was not that the
power came from a third co-equal, but that God imparted power to them by means
of the Holy Spirit, which placed the recipients of the special power in special
communion with the One only source of power.
8. When David
prophesied by the Holy Spirit, it was not that the mind of a third
"co-equal" moved his mind to foresee and his pen to foretell what
would happen, but it was with him like all the prophets, "God in sundry
times, and in divers manners spake in times past unto the fathers by the
prophets;" and God did this by causing "holy men of old to speak as
they were moved by the Holy Spirit" of God, the Spirit being God’s means of
breathing upon men whose minds thus affected became "God-breathed."
9. It would be absurd
to say that Jesus, when he received the Holy Spirit according to promise, did
so as one second "co-equal" receiving another third
"co-equal" God. He was filled with it while in the flesh; but when he
was "fashioned into a glorious body" he became Holy Spirit in bodily
form, a glorious, immortal nature which was the "joy set before him"
for which he endured the cross and despised the shame of a malefactor’s death.
10. For Jesus to be
anointed with the Holy Spirit was not for one "co-equal" person to
anoint a second "co-equal" person with a third "co-equal"
person, an absurdity which the Trinity is reducible to. It was for God, after
the custom of anointing with oil, to pour out upon Jesus and to envelop him in
a special and copious concentration of spirit, through which he spake the
words, "This is my (not our) beloved Son in whom I (not we) am well
pleased." "The head of every man is Christ, the head of the woman is
the man; and the head of Christ is God."--I Cor. 11: 3. God, being
the head of Christ, could appropriately utter the words "in whom I am well
pleased," leaving no room for a third "coequal" to have anything
to say in the matter. There was, therefore, only one Great Mind to please.
11. To use the words
"poured out" implies an actor and an instrument passive in his hands;
and that which was "poured out" could not, of course, be a person. So
again we have Deity, the source of all power pouring out his Spirit as the
means of manifesting his acceptance of the Gentiles.
12. It is God that
miraculously strengthens minds and muscles, though he has given his Son power
and authority to use divine power. Thus for this purpose many were filled with
the Holy Spirit and so enabled to confirm God’s words "with signs and
wonders, and divers miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit."
PERSONAL PRONOUN,
WHY USED
Some depend upon the
fact that the Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, is represented by the
personal pronoun, masculine gender, as proof of the Spirit’s separate
personality. This is a very slender thread to hang on. If the personal pronoun
in this case proves the separate personality of the Spirit, then upon the same
principle obedience and sin could be proved to be persons. Paul says,
"Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves
servants to obey his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto
death, or of obedience unto righteousness?"--Rom.
This will help us to
trace the personal pronoun when applied to the Holy Spirit of God back to its
source in Deity himself from whom Holy Spirit proceeds
and apart from whom it has no existence There is often a noun implied in
language, though not expressed. We may in using the words of the Saviour safely
think of the real personality involved even to the extent of mentally
supplying the noun when the pronoun is used. For instance, who can object to
the following? "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit (of God) whom
the Father will send in my name, he (God through his Spirit) shall teach you
all things" The person and gender attach to God, and follows, as it were,
the Spirit which emanates from him; for truly God is the "Comforter"
in the case; and it is the meaning we must seek, not words without meaning. In
the illustration given from Paul, the person and gender attach to the
"sinner" and the "obedient," and follows on to the act of
"sin" and "obedience;" and no one would for a moment sever
the acts from the actor in order to establish a theory of the personality of
the acts. Then, again, the word Spirit sometimes is used for God. Several of
the letters to the churches in the book of Revelation end with the words
"He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit
sayeth unto the churches."--Rev. 2: 17, 29; 3: 6, 22. Who is it that
"saith unto the churches" what is revealed in this wonderful book? Is
it the supposed third person of the Trinity? Absurd! It is none other than God
himself, though speaking by means of his Spirit through Christ. Hence the book
begins with the words "The Revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave unto
him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he
sent and signified it unto his servant John, who bear record of the word
of God," etc.
Again, Paul writes
Timothy, "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly."--1 Tim. 4: 1. If
there had been occasion to use a pronoun here, it might well have been personal
and masculine gender, yet who would have construed it to mean that the
"Spirit" was a third person of the Trinity? "Spirit" here
clearly stands for the one and only "true God" who has distinctly
declared, "I am the Lord (Yahweh), and there is none else, there is no God
beside me."--Isa. 45: 5. I once heard a minister argue that the Holy
Spirit must be a separate person because Jesus taught that sin against God and
against Christ could be forgiven, but sin against the Holy Spirit could not. If
this "argument" were true it would be strange indeed, a strangeness
which the gentleman’s zeal for a theory failed to see. It would mean that God
the Father would forgive a sin against him; and "God the Son" would
forgive a sin against him; but "God the Holy Ghost" would not forgive
a sin against him; and thus we should have one God differing to quite a degree
from the other two in this one respect; and if in one, why not in many? And so
it would be God against God, similar to heathenism, which had a god for each of
the forces of nature, one contending against the other. The passage referred to
is Luke 12: 10: "And whosoever shall speak a word
against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him; but unto him that blasphemeth
against the Holy Spirit it shall not be forgiven him." Now it is not said
here that "whosoever shall blaspheme" God it shall be forgiven him.
So that God’s willingness is not put in contrast with the unwillingness of the
Holy Spirit. Still it may be said that God does forgive sin against him. Yes,
some sins; but "there is a sin unto death," and surely that is a sin
against God. The blasphemy against the Holy Spirit in the passage is evidently
a specially heinous sin against God. The difference
between this sin and ordinary forgivable sins is in the fact that the latter is
what all men are prone to naturally when unaided in any special way by the Holy
Spirit, while the former was one that would be necessarily the most willful and
presumptuous in face of acts performed under the actual cognizance of the
senses, and where the sinners had "tasted of the heavenly gift, and were
made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and tasted the good word of God, and
the powers of the world to come."--Heb. 6: 4, 5. Now
in such a case will any one, even a Trinitarian, presume to say that there was
a sin committed against one God and not against the other two--a sin which two
of them would forgive, while one of them would not? To say so would almost be the
sin of blasphemy itself. One beholding with the natural eye the wonderful works
of the Holy Spirit through Christ and his apostles, works which the observers
must necessarily know were the works of God and could not be otherwise; and one
conscious of being possessed of the Holy Spirit and of the "powers of the
world to come," and still attribute such works to the "prince of
demons" or denying the power--surely this would be a sin against God, the
source of all power, which deserved no mercy and therefore "a sin unto
death." Let not man therefore suppose a God other than the One--a God who
can withhold forgiveness where others would grant it; for this is setting up
another God and ignoring the words of the One and only true God who has said, "Thou
shalt have no gods before me. * * * For I the Lord thy
God am a jealous God."--Ex. 20: 3-5. "God the Father, God the Son and
God the Holy Ghost" are the words of paganized Christianity and not of the
Scriptures of truth, either in word or meaning. "There is one God and one
Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus."--
The Hebrew word ruach
and the Greek word pueuma are used for breath, mind, spirit,
influence, a state of feeling and wind; they also stand for a being and beings.
If all things have been evolved out of spirit, which proceeds from Deity and
under the power of His will were spoken into the various forms which compose
the universe, then all creation may be said to be spirit in various forms of
manifestation. The word matter would then be expressive of spirit in its
grosser form, while spirit would represent the more attenuated parts of
the universe.
Since God is a Spirit,
we may conclude that Spirit in its primeval state is perfect. When evolved into
the various forms which we call nature, it must be viewed as of a lower degree
of perfection. Out of this creatures were formed, the highest of which in our
planet is man, to whom is imparted moral and
intellectual powers and consequently a degree of responsibility to the Creator.
Man’s exaltation to a higher state in the universe, or his fall to a lower was
made dependent upon the use he would make of the mental and moral powers he was
made the possessor of. He fell to a lower state; and out of this the plan of
salvation proposes to redeem him and exalt him to the highest state, that state
which, in contrast with matter, is called spirit, in which he
will be a spirit being, an immortal being. A spirit being is spirit in
corporeal, intelligent form; while spirit in the attenuated from is spirit in
diffusion, "free spirit," filling immensity and upholding all things
according to the will of Deity, who is the Great Spirit Being "out of whom
are all things" (Rom. 11: 36).
The divine order in
relation to man is "First that which is natural, afterwards that which is
spiritual." The "natural" we know to some extent by experience
and observation; but the "spiritual," in the sense of being, we can
only know in our day by what the Scriptures reveal concerning
ANGELS, WHO ARE
SPIRIT BEINGS
Of angels the apostle
Paul says, "But of which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my
right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool? Are they not all
ministering spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs
of salvation?"--Heb. 1: 13, 14. Reasoning from analogy we may conclude
that angels are the survivors of a pre-Adamic race, who have attained to their
immortality, glory and honor by faithfulness under probation. Since man, who is
said to have been "made lower than," or "a little while inferior
to" the angels (Heb. 2: 9), is on probation for to be "made equal
unto the angels" (Luke
There are some who
imagine that angels are the "disembodied souls" or spirits of men;
but since when man was made he was "made lower than," and in the
"image" (form) "of angels," it follows that they existed
before man’s formation, and that they therefore belonged to a previous age.
Then again, men and angels are held in contrast in respect of dominion--the
faithful of the former destined to be rulers in the "world to come,"
of which the apostle Paul says, "For unto the angels hath he not put in
subjection the world to come"--Heb. 2: 5, implying that the world present
is, in some sense, controlled by them under God and Christ.
A correct view of the
relation of angels to God will prevent misunderstanding of apparent
contradictions in the Scriptures. We are distinctly told that "no man hath
seen God at any time"--Jno.
It was through the
instrumentality of angels that God created man; and it was in the
"image," or form, of angels man was made.
The similarity of corporeal form was what caused Abraham to regard the three
angels who visited him as "three men." Commissioned and empowered of
God to perform His work in man’s creation, they said, "Let us make
man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion,"
etc.--Gen. 1: 26. Trinitarians quote this passage to prove the Trinity, because
of the use of the plural pronoun; but it requires an extraordinary stretch of
imagination to make the little word "us" declare the most
"mysterious" theory ever heard of and at the same time perform the
feat of counting exactly three. Without a controlling desire of proving an
assumed and preconceived theory, one would view the little plural
"us" as meaning any number above one. The words "LORD God"
(chap. 2: 7) are Yahweh Elohim and mean "the strength of the mighty
ones." The "mighty ones" performing the work are the angels, and
their "strength" or the power and authority by which they do it is Yahweh--"He
who will be", will be manifested in the Son of Man, of whom John the
Baptist said, "Prepare ye the way of Yahweh," when God was about to
be manifested in the flesh by His Spirit, in the person of Jesus, who was
Immanuel.
THE MEANING OF THE
WORD ANGEL
The word angel comes
from the Greek word angelos, and means messenger. It
is sometimes applied to mortal men. John is called an angel in the words,
"Behold I send my messenger" (angelos) (Matt.
CORPOREAL SPIRITS
Angels are glorious,
powerful and immortal beings; and what a blessing and an honor God has
conferred upon us in rendering it possible to be made "like unto the
angels, to die no more"--Luke
JESUS A SPIRIT BEING
AFTER RESURRECTION
It is evident that
Jesus was immortalized on the day of his resurrection, and an immortal being is
a spirit being. To Mary Jesus said, "Touch me not, for I am not yet
ascended to my Father; but go to my brethren and say unto them, I ascend unto
my Father, and your Father; unto my God and to your God"--John 20: 17. This
could not refer to his ascent to heaven, which did not take place for forty
days afterwards; and there would be no reason for sending a messenger to inform
them of his ascent to heaven forty days hence, seeing he would be with his
brethren during the interval. The "ascent" was therefore something
that was to occur between the time he sent the message by Mary and the time he
would meet his brethren himself. It is quite reasonable, therefore, to conclude
that Jesus meant his ascent in nature--from the lower nature (mortality) to the
higher nature (immortality). He would then be a spirit being. Yet, when Thomas
doubted, Jesus said to him, "See my hands and my feet, that I am he;
handle me and be convinced"--Luke 24: 39 (Diaglott rendering). If the
objection is offered that he said, "A spirit hath not flesh and bones as
ye see me have," it is worthy of note that Griesbach’s Greek text has the
word phantasma in the margin (phantom) here, not pneuma, corresponding
with Mark
Now Paul says, that
Jesus "shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto
his glorious body" (Phil.
If this is objected to
on the ground that the argument largely depends upon whether Jesus was in the
changed state when he told Thomas to handle him; and if it is questioned
whether the words "I ascend to my Father," etc., are a positive proof
of a change of nature, then we ask the objectors to explain these words upon
any other hypothesis, without suggesting the unlikely thing, not to say the
absurdity, of Jesus hastening Mary to tell his brethren of an event forty days
hence, when he knew he would have many opportunities of telling them himself
before the time arrived. According to the type of the firstfruits, the day he
spoke the words to Mary was the day when he should become the first-fruits of
the harvest of immortality; and there is nothing to show that he was changed
subsequently, That he was immortal when he ascended to heaven is evident from
the fact that the garments of the High Priest under Moses typified the garment
of immortality; and the Most Holy Place was not to be entered without the high
priestly robe. This in relation to Jesus, as the antitype, is clearly shown in
Zech. 3: 3-8. In perhaps still clearer language it is proved in Heb. 9:
12--"Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he
entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal
redemption" ("for us" is supplied by the translators, and
should be omitted). "Eternal redemption" is "redemption of the
body" (Rom.
THE ARGUMENT
SUMMARIZED
1. Jesus in the
immortal state is a substantial, corporeal being.
2. The redeemed will be
made like him by a change of the mortal body to an immortal body, which is a
"spiritual body."
3. They will then be
like unto the angels.
4. Angels are in form
like unto men, and have been mistaken for men.
5. Since Jesus in the
immortal state is a corporeal being; and since men are to be made like unto
him, and thereby like unto the angels, it follows that angels, who are spirits,
are yet real substantial, corporeal spirit beings, and not disembodied,
immaterial entities "without body or parts."
As to the question of
their origin, we may summarize the matter as follows:
1. Man when he was
formed was "made lower than the angels."
2. Man when he is
redeemed and made immortal is to be "equal unto the angels."
3. Since man was made
lower than the angels, it follows that angels preceded man; and since man when
redeemed at the resurrection is to be like unto the angels, we may conclude
that angels are now, and have been since before the creation of man, immortal
beings or spirit beings, as the result of successful probation in a pre-Adamic
age.
4. Therefore, since all
things are evolved out of the spirit of Deity by His supreme and omnipotent
power and under the control of His will, we may conclude that all intelligent
and moral creatures are first spirit evolved into flesh, "very good,"
whose physical, mental and moral status is made dependent upon obedience to
divine law. That any fall from this "very good" status is always the
consequence of breaking such law; and that redemption therefrom is the result
of God’s mercy in adapting a law of redemption to the needs and capabilities of
his fallen creatures, by faith in and obedience to which, flesh may be changed
into spirit in the form of spirit beings, which is the ideal state of
perfection.
5. To this spirit state
angels had already attained before man was created; and to this Jesus attained
(after his resurrection) by a perfect obedience, even unto the death of the
cross; and through him men may attain to the same--"every man in his own
order, Christ the firstfruits, afterwards they that are Christ’s at his
coming."
ARE THERE EVIL SPIRITS?
It is supposed that
there are two classes of supernatural beings, or angels--one "evil
spirits"; the other "good spirits." If spirit in its primeval
state is perfect, it is impossible for there to be evil personal spirits, for
the spirit state, which is the immortal state, is the goal to which
righteousness leads, and therefore to which wickedness cannot attain. There can
be no evil supernatural spirit, therefore. The only evil spirits, in the
personal sense of "spirits," are false prophets and wicked men; but
they are all natural, of the flesh, and not supernatural. Hence John says,
"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are
of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world"--
"THE ANGELS
THAT KEPT NOT THEIR FIRST ESTATE"
It is generally
supposed that the angels spoken of in II. Pet. 2: 4 and Jude 6 are of a
pre-Adamic race, and many believe them to be immortal. Jude says, "And the
angels which kept not their first estate, but left
their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness
unto the judgment of the great day." "Chains" are a symbol of
bondage; and there is nothing darker than death and the grave. Solomon says,
"Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp [life] shall be put out
in obscure darkness"--Pro.
"Chains under
darkness" are words quite expressive of death and the grave; and these
angels are "reserved" in death and the grave "unto the judgment
of the great day." They are not, therefore, the supposed "evil
spirits" roaming around in the air watching for opportunities to
antagonize the angels who are "ministering spirits for them who are heirs
of salvation;" for they are fastened in chains, and reserved in darkness.
If they are of pre-Adamic times, and are the fallen of the race out of which
the angels of God are the redeemed, the question arises, Why
are they reserved for judgment from a previous age to another age; while their
successful contemporaries are enjoying their rewards? Would not the judgment
which rewarded the faithful also be executed upon the unfaithful? Why bring
over to another age part of a race who lived under the
laws, and should be judged by the laws, of the age they lived in? There is
confusion here. The criterion revealed gives us to understand that when God
judges and gives rewards to the faithful, He judges and punishes the
unfaithful.
Since the word angel is
applied to mortal men and means messenger, it is reasonable to regard the words
of Jude as applicable to men, especially in view of his saying that it was an
event of which he would "put them in remembrance, though ye once knew
this"--verse 5. How could they know of angels of a pre-Adamic
age? But of angels, or messengers, who were sent to take formal possession of