Would that not make you think that the Holy Spirit is GOD..? If its only his "Active Force" as you believe..then , if blashemy agaist the Holy Spirit is an unforgivable sin..would that mean it is greater than God? Would it not stand to reason that such an important thing to God would mean that it is part of GOD..the part that lives inside each born again Christian..?
I hope you can understand my question..thanks!
2007-11-14 01:45:17 · 12 answers · asked by Lisa... 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Great point. They are not going to ask forgiveness for something they believe they do not do. They are blasphemers, and with their organization's full support.
2007-11-14 02:22:13 · answer #1 · answered by Nina, BaC 7 · 4⤊ 6⤋
You have to remember who kept on putting trap questions to J'esus most of the time: the Pharisees. Sometimes, Herodians and Sadducees too. You see, they did not believe J'esus was a rabbi which was a title of honor given to a teacher of the Mosaic Law. They knew that Christ claimed the right to interpret the Law (see Mt. 5:20-48) but as he wasn't one of their sect (in the sense of religious school or group) they wouldn't concede any such right to Him. So the title "rabbi" given him by the lawyer/Pharisees is insincere. Now, to answer your question, you have to remember that the Holy Spirit is the third Divine person of the Trinity. "Ultimately, all sin is against G-d. Sin against the Holy Spirit is serious because the Holy Spirit is the One who convicts us of sin. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit can't be forgiven. Conviction preceded repentance. Without the convicting Spirit, we can't find forgiveness. Blasphemy against the Spirit is the willful and blatant act of attributing to Satan that which is clearly the work of the Holy Spirit. This terrible sin occurs when a person consciously rejects the truth, believing Satan rather than G-d. G-d won't forgive such blatant rebellion. The nature of the problem is debated. Has the heart become so hardened the person can't distinguish good from evil or can't repent? Or does G-d of His own free choice close the door to any possible repentance? Some have attempted to give a catalog of "unforgivable" sins, but the New Testament doesn't list any other sins beyond forgiveness. We must be cautious not to apply the doctrine in the wrong way. People who feel such a yearning for salvation may be sure the Spirit continues to work in their lives. Where the Spirit works, grace for forgiveness is available. Some people in desperation or anger shake a fist and complain to G-d. They are simply repeating the actions of many of the psalmists. They aren't guilty of the unforgivable sin. The doctrine of the unforgivable sin is a warning against overconfidence and religious blindness, not a temporary wrongdoing." * And you don't need a degree to answer this, you just need a good commentary of the Gospel.
2016-04-04 00:36:32 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Point 1: The Holy Spirit is a person—the third person of the Trinity. He is God.
Acts 5: 3, 4—Lying to the Holy Spirit is equated to lying to God. “But Peter said, “Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Spirit . . . Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.”
2 Corinthians 3: 17—“Now the Lord is that Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”
Hebrews 3: 7-9—“Wherefore, as the Holy Spirit saith, “Today if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of trial in the wilderness, when your fathers put me to the test, proved me, and saw my works forty years’.” In this passage, God is speaking to the generation of Old Testament Hebrews who came out of Egypt but who were not allowed to enter into Canaan. Because of their unbelief and disloyalty to God, they were sentenced to wandering around in the wilderness for 40 years. Here, the Holy Spirit speaks to them AS YAHWEH, or God the Father. There are plenty of other references, as well, where the Holy Spirit, in the New Testament, is equated to the Yahweh of the Old Testament and is said to have done the things that He did (see Acts 7: 48-51, 28: 25-27, just to name a couple).
Mark 3: 29; Matt. 12:32—Speaking against the Holy Spirit is BLASPHEMY and will not be forgiven. What is the dictionary definition of “blasphemy”? “A contemptuous or profane act, utterance, or writing concerning God” (American Heritage Dictionary 2nd college ed.) Yes, according to Scripture, the Holy Spirit is divine. Offending Him is equated to offending God.
The Holy Spirit has all the attributes of deity; He is omniscient (all-knowing), omnipresent (everywhere at once), and omnipotent (all-powerful). He is holy and eternal (had no beginning nor end to His existence, just like God Himself). See Psalm 139: 7 (omnipresent);
1 Corinthians 2: 10 (omniscient); Romans 15: 19 (omnipotent); John 16: 7-14 (holy); Hebrews 9: 14 (eternal).
The Holy Spirit does things that only God can do. He participated in creating the world (Gen. 1: 2, 3; Isaiah 40: 12-14). He participated in creating humankind (Job 33:4; Psalm 104:30). He begat Jesus in Mary’s womb (Luke 1: 35). He inspired Scripture (2 Timothy 3: 16; 2 Peter1: 21).
Clearly, then, Scripture shows the Holy Spirit to be equal to God, having all the attributes of God, and doing things that ONLY God has the ability to do. The evidence points to the unmistakable conclusion that the Holy Spirit can be no other than God Himself.
Point 2: The Holy Spirit has a personality, like any person. A “force” does NOT have a personality.
The Holy Spirit possesses intellect: He “searches (investigates) all things” (1 Corinthians 2: 10); He gives wisdom and understanding (Isaiah 11: 2; Ephesians 1: 7); He makes intercession for us and searches our hearts (Romans 8: 27). It is clear from Scripture, therefore, that the Holy Spirit possesses a mind—something only a person can possess.
Besides intellect, the Holy Spirit also possesses emotions. For example, He can be “grieved” (Ephesians 4: 30). The Holy Spirit also possesses a will (1 Corinthians 12: 11).
Furthermore, the Holy Spirit does things that only a person, not a force, can do: He teaches believers (John 14: 26). He testifies (John 15: 26). He leads us (Romans 8: 4). He sends us to do His will (Acts 13: 4; Acts 8: 29). He restrains sin (Genesis 6: 3, compare 2 Thessalonians 2:7). He intercedes in prayer for us, just like Christ does (Romans 7: 25; 8: 26). He inspired the writing of Scripture (2 Peter 1: 21).
Point 3: The Holy Spirit applies personal pronouns to Himself. See Acts 13: 2—“. . . the Holy Spirit said, ‘separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work unto which I have called them’.” Notice the use of the personal pronouns “I” and “me”. These pronouns are only used when we refer to a PERSON.
Additionally, the verse says that the Holy Spirit spoke (“said”), something only a person can do. He also speaks of calling these men to do His will. Does electricity or the wind speak, call people for its purpose, or have a will? Certainly, then, the Holy Spirit considers Himself a person! Furthermore, Paul and Branabas obeyed the commission He gave them. Can a person obey the wind or electricity? Can wind or electricity even issue a command?
In Matthew 28:19, we are commissioned to baptize disciples in the NAME OF “the father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”. We are commissioned to baptize in the name of all three PERSONS. The Father and the Son are undeniably persons. By the context of this verse, then, so also is the Holy Spirit. The verse could just as well be read: “in the name of the father, and in the name of the Son, and in the name of the Holy Spirit”, due to the personal element being so obviously denoted in each of these three phrases.
IN SUMMARY: The Bible proves that the Holy Spirit is a PERSON. Since He is a person, He also has personality, another fact proven in Scripture. Any argument or conclusion to the contrary can be proven (1 Thessalonians 5: 21), by the Scriptures, to be both arbitrary and capricious.
2007-11-16 10:00:40 · answer #3 · answered by Simon Peter 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
No.
Because according to the trinity, The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one and the same.
Yet according to your interpretation of this verse, You can blaspheme the Father and the Son and still receive eternal life.
The works Jesus did was by means of God's spirit, this phrase in it's self shows that God's spirit is like saying God's finger, God's arm, God's breath.
The Pharisees saw the evident demonstration of God's power and rejected that visible proof.
Thus they had no excuse in rejecting Jesus as the Messiah.
We receive God's spirit in our lives means we receive power from God to be able to resist Satan, and our imperfections.
It does not mean God the Holy Spirit lives in us. It means we have the power to do things beyond our own strength.
If a born again Christian fights God's power and direction in their lifes they can in effect blasheme the holy spirit and lose their salvation.
.
2007-11-15 03:44:35 · answer #4 · answered by TeeM 7 · 1⤊ 2⤋
No.
In fact, the concept of "unforgivable sin" quite convincingly PROVES that the holy spirit CANNOT be God (the Father). Blasphemy nearly always implies insult against a deity, so Jesus had to carefully describe the special form of blasphemy that actually DOES bear particular reprehension.
(Mark 3:28-29) Truly I say to you that all things will be forgiven the sons of men, no matter what sins and blasphemies they blasphemously commit. However, whoever blasphemes against the holy spirit has no forgiveness forever, but is guilty of everlasting sin.
The bible describes many accounts of humans who did insult Jehovah but who nevertheless seem to have been forgiven. For example, the apostle Paul himself plainly admits to committing blasphemy, yet his forgiveness was possible because he never denied the action of the holy spirit, or ascribed wrongdoing to the holy spirit.
(1 Timothy 1:13) Formerly I was a blasphemer and a persecutor and an insolent man. Nevertheless, I was shown mercy
Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/e/ti/index.htm?article=article_07.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/200607a/article_01.htm
2007-11-14 02:26:39 · answer #5 · answered by achtung_heiss 7 · 7⤊ 1⤋
Hi Lisa,
If you examine the replies from respondents like trustdel you will quickly realise how one sided their arguments are.
They are very good at quoting texts that seem to support their point of view and manage, conveniently, to ignore anything that challenges them.
Perhaps it's time we looked at some of the texts that are ignored.
"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” Rev. 1:8.
Who is speaking? JESUS! So Jesus is also the Almighty! So we now have TWO Almightys!
If we look at Genesis 1:1,2 - "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters."
Now look at verse 26, "Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
So now we have an "US" in the equation! Unless I am very much mistaken us means two or more doesn't it?
The Hebrew word "ruach" can be translated as wind, breath or spirit and corresponds with the Greek "pnuema" as in the LXX translation of the Hebrew Scriptures.
Trustdel quotes from Gen.17:1. "...the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God;"
"Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” John 8:58.
There are only TWO conclusions that can be drawn from this, either there are TWO I AM's or it was Jesus who spoke to Abram!
If it was Jesus who is speaking to Abram, then the LORD must also be Jesus!
Now let's go to Exodus 3:14 - "And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
The word "God" in the Hebrew is "Elohim" which is a plural word used consistently throughout Scripture for God in the singular. Now why would that be?
Trusdel leaps into the Book of Revelation where Revelation 4:5 refers to the seven spirits od God and then comes to the conclusion that Trinitarians now have seven Holy Spirits!
That is typical Watch Tower Society thinking. Grab a text, attribute a meaning to it that was never intended and attempt to support their own convoluted translation.
The plurality of the Holy Spirit also occurs in Rev. 1:4; 3:1; 5:6; and 22:6. This is IMAGERY! The Old Testament background is found in Isaiah 11:2 where seven designations of the Spirit of the Lord are mentioned. "The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and Godliness and of the fear of the LORD." (LXX).
The seven "Spirits" operate within the seven churches of Revelation.
There is ample evidence that there are three persons in the Godhead. Each has a personality and a function yet they are one.
I don't think that there is a person alive who fully understands this concept. Our human minds cannot understand the workings of the supernatural being we call God.
Let it be sufficient that "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." John 3:16,17. "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you."John 14:26.
God Bless,
H'chat.
2007-11-14 09:10:46 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 3⤋
Does anyone believe in the trinity? Father, Son, and Holy Spirit that are three in one. Seperate yet one? I do. I'm not a jehovah's witness but this belief in the trinity would make the father, son, and holy spirit all GOD.
2007-11-14 02:18:14 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 3⤋
THAT is a very good question! Blasphemy against the Holy spirit, was committed by the Pharisees, when, having Jesus standing in front of them , they called him Satan, knowing full well that he was Emanuel ( God with us).
Not a sin that we can commit today, We now have the Holy Spirit IN us and Jesus is in heaven.
This is a Question I recently posed to my pastor.....It is a relief that we can not blaspheme the Holy Spirit, and lose our salvation. ....On accident or on Purpose...we Can, although Grieve the Holy Spirit, and do so regularly, due to our sinful nature.
Mommyof1...I am glad that you are openminded...Whether you come to the conclusion that the witnesses are accurate, or not, I admire you for faithfully examining what you believe, as the Bible requires all Christians to do..May God bless you, no matter what you decide.
2007-11-14 02:19:57 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 6⤋
EDITED :
Does the Trinity teach there is THREE OR TWO Almighty God? The Trinity doctrine even says there is only One God which also conflicts with Haverchat’s explanation of
“So we now have TWO Almightys!”
Gen 1:26 states “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness..”
Does this verse make God composed of THREE persons?
Please notice this.
The Mother said “Let US make a cake”, Is the Mother composed of THREE PERSONS? Or Is the Mother THREE Mothers?
Or The Mother is only talking to someone else, which let’s say is a daughter.
When someone says “I am” does that make him God or Jesus? The blind man that Jesus cured says “I am” in John 9, is this blind man Jesus or God?
Notice too how Haverchat CHANGED the meaning of “seven spirits of God” to a NON-PERSON (The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and Godliness and of the fear of the LORD).
That’s what JWs are saying all along that the spirit of God, is NOT a person.
==
Luke 11:20 called the holy spirit, God's finger. See parallel in Matthew 12:28. The holy spirit is a part of God, not a separate person of God. If you say " I clapped" most probably it means "I clapped with my hands". The instrument that was used to make the sound is the hands. God uses his spirit (his active force) in doing what he wants. If the spirit can be grieved, teach and speak the Bible points that it is God who was being grieved, who teaches and speaks. God uses his spirit to do those things. If you go against the workings of the holy spirit you are actually going against the workings of the owner of that spirit, the Father Jehovah. See 2 Cor 3:17
One of the things that the holy spirit is consistently called in the Bible is the “spirit of God” and also the “spirit of Jehovah”. (Mat 3:16, Zech 6:8). Now if the “spirit of God” is a person as the Trinitarians are saying, then they will have a problem, when they read Rev 4:5 where it states “. 5 And out of the throne there are proceeding lightnings and voices and thunders; and [there are] seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, and these mean the SEVEN SPIRITS OF GOD”
So now, Trinitarians are now believing in 7 more persons of God. But of course, as expected, in Rev 4:5 they will NOW change the meaning of the “spirit of God” to something else. And in that case, it is NOT a person.
E.W. Bullinger remarks in Appendix 9 of the Companion Bible for the meaning of the spirit:
The meaning of the word is to be deduced only from its usage. The one root idea running through all of the passages is invisible force.
The spirit is not a separate person of God, but a part of the Father. That's why in all the visions of God's people in the heaven, only two are present, the Son and the Father. That's why Jesus said that we have to exercise faith in the Father and the Son (John 14:1, John 17) not mentioning any other person, because the holy spirit is already part of the Father.
And to say that you cannot sin against the holy spirit NOW/TODAY is totally fooling oneself. It is like saying, I sinned against Jesus and the Father, and that sin is NOT applied to us now because it is only applied to the Pharisees. That is a dangerous doctrine I think.
Is God composed of THREE PERSONS?
Gen 17:1 states “, then Jehovah appeared to A´bram and said to him: “I am God Almighty”
Do you use the phrase “I am” for THREE persons or you only use it for ONE Person?
If God is composed of THREE persons, God should have said “WE ARE God” but you cannot find that it the Bible.
You never use the phrase “I am” for THREE Persons. I am is only used for one person.
JESUS said to the Father also in John 17:3, that the Father is the “ONLY True God”, this means there is one and only one person who is God, the Father. and this is confirmed in 1 Cor 8:5 where is states “6 there is actually to us one God the FATHER”.Notice the Father only. Notice also in John 17:3 Jesus excluded himself as the only true God. Instead of saying “We are the only true God” JESUS said “YOU (referring to the Father), and not US” as the only true God. Now are you against Jesus?
Now, if the Son is Jehovah, the Father is Jehovah and the holy spirit is Jehovah according to the Trinity doctrine, then these THREE PERSONS, are THREE Jehovah.
But the Bible says in Deut 6:4 Listen, O Israel: Jehovah our God is ONE Jehovah.
Notice in Deut 6:4 it used “IS” and only ONE person is involved. If there are three Jehovah then it should have used ARE for THREE persons.
There is ONLY ONE JEHOVAH, who is God Almighty.
2007-11-14 03:43:32 · answer #9 · answered by trustdell1 3 · 5⤊ 2⤋
Wow! That is a really good question, I have never thought of that before.
I do not know the answer to this question!
2007-11-14 02:25:32 · answer #10 · answered by Mommy of 3 5 · 3⤊ 3⤋
I think it is interesting that no JW's have answered this question. Makes one wonder why.Do they not have an answer.
2007-11-14 02:10:51 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 5⤋