Tonight I will be preaching from Genesis chapter 5 in Wednesday night Bible study at Ballenger Creek Baptist Church. Can I be honest about something? Genesis chapter 5 is a very boring chapter, it is all genealogies and the only great truths that you can find in it are concerning Methuselah's name (http://curtking.blogspot.com/2013/07/methuselah-and-what-he-teaches-us-about.html) and about Enoch. Aw, Enoch! The man, Enoch, is the exact opposite of boring; he takes this dry, kind of dull passage and turns it into something amazing. Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him. Now, I could easily talk about the miraculous events around the idea that Enoch "was not, for God took him," but I don't see how that would be as helpful to anyone as what I am about to say:
Let me ask you a very personal question. What do you want to be know for? What do you want people to say about you? While we are living on this planet, we do have ways of controlling people's perception of us; I understand that doing so does produce consequences at times, but we have all tried to direct people's thoughts in a certain way when it comes to their perception of us. Some of us try to come off as funny, some of us try to come off as serious, some of us try to come off as wise, some people even try to come off as idiotic! There will come a point in time where you can no longer control people's perception of you. The point that I am speaking of is death. You see, the moment you die, people will remember you for who you were and that memory will forever be locked into their minds. How does this apply to Enoch? In Genesis chapter 5, Enoch is mentioned in 6 verses, five of which are genealogies. He is also mentioned in Luke 3, which is a genealogy, in Hebrews 11:5, recounting the events of that one verse in Genesis, and lastly in Jude 14 speaking of Enoch's prophetic ministry. Ultimately, there are only three verses in the entire Bible that say anything about Enoch other than who his father was or who his son was. That isn't very much! But with only three verses completely dedicated to him, we still know one huge thing about Enoch: Enoch walked with God, and he was not; for God took him. Enoch will forever go down in history as the man who walked with God.
Here is my challenge: Someday you will die. What will be said about your life? Will people say, "Boy, he sure was a jokester!" or "She was so good with children," or any thing similar to that? My hope is that when I die people will say, "He sure did love Jesus," or "His walk with the Lord challenged me to live for Jesus". Do you see the difference? We should all strive to walk with our Saviour so much that it just rubs off onto other people and they can't help but see it! If your friends and family can't tell that you've been walking with Jesus, then you may not have been walking with Jesus! Let's all make it our goal: Jesus will be all the world to me and my greatest goal in life is to walk with him. When we do this, I believe we will leave behind a godly legacy, just as Enoch did. I want to make it so that when my time on earth is done, people will say "Curtis walked with God."
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Monday, July 15, 2013
When God Is Trying to Make a Point
In these past few weeks we have had several guest preachers come to Ballenger Creek Baptist Church. Dr. Mark Rasmussen came with the West Coast Baptist College tour group this past Tuesday night and yesterday we had Dr. Mark Campbell from the National Center of Life and Liberty. It is amazing how the Holy Spirit moves! You see, God has directed the sermons in a very specific way in these past weeks. Pastor Sharff and I have already preached several messages on the subject of serving the Lord. Honestly, at one point we thought maybe we should preach on this subject a little less, because we thought we were hammering it too much, maybe the congregation was getting tired of hearing about serving. I can testify ,though, with all certainty, as I'm sure Pastor Sharff can as well, that we have preached what God has laid on our hearts and that the Holy Spirit has been in the messages. But then Tuesday came, Dr. Mark Rasmussen got into the pulpit and said, "I was going to preach about prayer, but what I feel like this church needs is a message on serving." He then gave a convicting message about being a disciple. Last night was the climax of these past few weeks, Dr. Campbell preached a message from John 2, entitled "But the Servants Knew", it was a wonderful message about being a servant for the Master, Jesus Christ. I sincerely believe that God is trying to speak to hearts, or at least one person.
I have a great fear when God works in this way. Unfortunately, it shouldn't take the same thing being preached many times for someone to "get" the message. This reminds me of the time I preached for Student Revival at West Coast Baptist College. I preached on how we are the bride of Christ and that since we are in that position we need to keep from sin, be consistent in our walk, and be set apart. When my message was over and I was on my way back to my dorm, a classmate came to me with tears in his eyes. He said to me, "That message was exactly what I needed, Thank you!" I don't know that classmates heart, but I do know that he had a great testimony and that he was seen as one of the more godly people at school. The thought crossed my mind, "My sermon wasn't to him; my sermon was for the rebel who needs to get his heart right." This is the struggle of being a preacher: We prepare sermons that are intended to bring people back to God, but the ones with the tender hearts are the ones that always respond. The only thing that I can do as a pastor is to pray that God will break hearts.
All this being said, let me show you three things that I plan on talking to the church about on Wednesday night. So many times we sit through a sermon and we don't get out of it what we should. It is never the Bible's fault, it is rarely the preacher's fault, but it is often the fault of the person sitting in the pew. Let's look at three things that we should do when sitting under Bible preaching:
1. Do not shift blame- If you are sitting in the sermon thinking "Boy, my wife needs to hear this sermon!" or "Man, I sure hope George is listening, he needs to get his heart right with God!", then you have the wrong attitude. Come to church expecting to get something for yourself.
2. Examine your heart- Ask God, "Lord, am I obeying you in this area as I should? How can I do better?" If we are sincere in our asking, I believe that God will honor it and show you how you can apply the sermon to your life.
3. Take notes- there are several reasons to take notes in church. First, it helps you to concentrate. Second, you can look at the message during the week and meditate on what you learned on Sunday, Third, and I believe the most important, so that you can look back on past messages and remember decisions that you made for God. I have a wide-margin Bible that my wife gave me for my birthday, I have taken many, many sermon notes in it. Every so often, I will look back at some of those messages and remember how they had touched my heart. Doing so renews my zeal to keep the decisions that I had made, it reminds me of commitments that I made to God.
I believe that we so often do not listen or even hear God when he is trying to make a point to us. I know that he is definitely trying to make a point at Ballenger Creek Baptist Church; to who? I really don't know; but through these past few weeks it has been made abundantly clear. I hope, I pray that if you are reading this you will take these three ideas to heart so that God doesn't have to keep trying to get a point across to you, but that your heart will be tender for whenever he wants to tell you something. Last thing, I promise, I once heard it said that whenever you sit through a sermon you either are drawn closer to God or you backslide further. I agree with this statement. Let me ask you as I close this post: Did you draw closer to God last time you were in church, or did you backslide and reject the preaching of God's Word? convicting thought.
I have a great fear when God works in this way. Unfortunately, it shouldn't take the same thing being preached many times for someone to "get" the message. This reminds me of the time I preached for Student Revival at West Coast Baptist College. I preached on how we are the bride of Christ and that since we are in that position we need to keep from sin, be consistent in our walk, and be set apart. When my message was over and I was on my way back to my dorm, a classmate came to me with tears in his eyes. He said to me, "That message was exactly what I needed, Thank you!" I don't know that classmates heart, but I do know that he had a great testimony and that he was seen as one of the more godly people at school. The thought crossed my mind, "My sermon wasn't to him; my sermon was for the rebel who needs to get his heart right." This is the struggle of being a preacher: We prepare sermons that are intended to bring people back to God, but the ones with the tender hearts are the ones that always respond. The only thing that I can do as a pastor is to pray that God will break hearts.
All this being said, let me show you three things that I plan on talking to the church about on Wednesday night. So many times we sit through a sermon and we don't get out of it what we should. It is never the Bible's fault, it is rarely the preacher's fault, but it is often the fault of the person sitting in the pew. Let's look at three things that we should do when sitting under Bible preaching:
1. Do not shift blame- If you are sitting in the sermon thinking "Boy, my wife needs to hear this sermon!" or "Man, I sure hope George is listening, he needs to get his heart right with God!", then you have the wrong attitude. Come to church expecting to get something for yourself.
2. Examine your heart- Ask God, "Lord, am I obeying you in this area as I should? How can I do better?" If we are sincere in our asking, I believe that God will honor it and show you how you can apply the sermon to your life.
3. Take notes- there are several reasons to take notes in church. First, it helps you to concentrate. Second, you can look at the message during the week and meditate on what you learned on Sunday, Third, and I believe the most important, so that you can look back on past messages and remember decisions that you made for God. I have a wide-margin Bible that my wife gave me for my birthday, I have taken many, many sermon notes in it. Every so often, I will look back at some of those messages and remember how they had touched my heart. Doing so renews my zeal to keep the decisions that I had made, it reminds me of commitments that I made to God.
I believe that we so often do not listen or even hear God when he is trying to make a point to us. I know that he is definitely trying to make a point at Ballenger Creek Baptist Church; to who? I really don't know; but through these past few weeks it has been made abundantly clear. I hope, I pray that if you are reading this you will take these three ideas to heart so that God doesn't have to keep trying to get a point across to you, but that your heart will be tender for whenever he wants to tell you something. Last thing, I promise, I once heard it said that whenever you sit through a sermon you either are drawn closer to God or you backslide further. I agree with this statement. Let me ask you as I close this post: Did you draw closer to God last time you were in church, or did you backslide and reject the preaching of God's Word? convicting thought.
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Methuselah, and What He Teaches Us About God
You know who Methuselah is, right? He is the man to live the longest in all of recorded history. He lived to be 969 years old!
Wow, that was a short post, to bad there is nothing else interesting about Methuselah who only appears in 5 verses of the Bible...
But there is more; and this info is very interesting! Let me give you some facts about Methuselah and then tie them all up for a lesson about God. The name Methuselah means "his death shall bring judgement". Methuselah was the father of Lamech who was the father of Noah, making Methuselah Noah's grandfather. Now, we do not know about the spiritual walk of Methuselah, we would assume that he walked with God based on his family history (Enoch, his father, walked with God; Noah, his grandson, found grace in the eyes of the Lord). Lastly, according to mathematically minded people and scholars of the Bible (who are all a lot smarter than I am!) Methuselah died in the same year as the Flood! Some extra-biblical accounts even hold that Methuselah passed away only 7 days before the Flood.
There is something great that we can learn about God in this. You see, Enoch, Methuselah's father, walked with God. I sincerely believe that when Enoch named Methuselah, he did so because he was so in touch with God, he knew what to name him. Methuselah's life was a warning, and every time someone heard his name people were struck with the looming prophesy that judgement for their wicked behavior was coming. Pretty depressing. Here is where it gets good, Methuselah was the oldest man to ever live; 969 years! God didn't have to allow Methuselah to live as long as he did. God could have said, "Ok Methuselah, you're 500 years old now; your time is up." But God didn't. Why? I believe that God, in His great mercy, was keeping Methuselah alive as a warning to the people around him. God wanted these people to know "Judgement is coming; repent while you still can!"; and he extended that offer, not for 100, not for 500, but for over 900 years.
I serve a God who is rich in mercy! He hates evil, and must punish evil, but is so merciful and loving that he is willing to extend out his hand to us and say, "Repent of your sins, and we can have fellowship once again." Wow! We serve an amazing God.
Wow, that was a short post, to bad there is nothing else interesting about Methuselah who only appears in 5 verses of the Bible...
But there is more; and this info is very interesting! Let me give you some facts about Methuselah and then tie them all up for a lesson about God. The name Methuselah means "his death shall bring judgement". Methuselah was the father of Lamech who was the father of Noah, making Methuselah Noah's grandfather. Now, we do not know about the spiritual walk of Methuselah, we would assume that he walked with God based on his family history (Enoch, his father, walked with God; Noah, his grandson, found grace in the eyes of the Lord). Lastly, according to mathematically minded people and scholars of the Bible (who are all a lot smarter than I am!) Methuselah died in the same year as the Flood! Some extra-biblical accounts even hold that Methuselah passed away only 7 days before the Flood.
There is something great that we can learn about God in this. You see, Enoch, Methuselah's father, walked with God. I sincerely believe that when Enoch named Methuselah, he did so because he was so in touch with God, he knew what to name him. Methuselah's life was a warning, and every time someone heard his name people were struck with the looming prophesy that judgement for their wicked behavior was coming. Pretty depressing. Here is where it gets good, Methuselah was the oldest man to ever live; 969 years! God didn't have to allow Methuselah to live as long as he did. God could have said, "Ok Methuselah, you're 500 years old now; your time is up." But God didn't. Why? I believe that God, in His great mercy, was keeping Methuselah alive as a warning to the people around him. God wanted these people to know "Judgement is coming; repent while you still can!"; and he extended that offer, not for 100, not for 500, but for over 900 years.
I serve a God who is rich in mercy! He hates evil, and must punish evil, but is so merciful and loving that he is willing to extend out his hand to us and say, "Repent of your sins, and we can have fellowship once again." Wow! We serve an amazing God.
Monday, July 8, 2013
"Humble" Cars
Just to start off, I am against the Catholic Church. I believe that it's doctrines are not founded on Scripture, I believe that they hold tradition above their respect for God's Word, I believe that the Catholic Church is evil. But I cannot say that there are some small things that I agree with Catholics about. For instance, the Catholic stance on abortion has always been very strong. This is an area where I agree with Catholics. The Catholics have a new pope, Pope Francis. I believe he is unsaved, I know he is the leader of the greatest false religion in the world, but I am very impressed by his sincerity. I truly wish that preachers in my circles had the same sincerity that Pope Francis has. Yesterday I saw an article that I would like to share with you: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/07/08/pope-francis-priests--nuns-should-drive-humble-cars_n_3560058.html?utm_hp_ref=uk
I applaud the Pope for saying this. I think so often those of us in the ministry lose our focus. We have all seen the preachers who drive a brand new Rolls Royce, wear the brand new, super expensive tux to church, and building themselves beautiful, ornate offices simply to stroke their ego's. These things ought not so to be. Ministry is all about people. My purpose in the ministry is to snatch as many people out of the fires of Hell as I possibly can. Unfortunately, when preachers lose their focus they isolate themselves from the people they are trying to reach. Here is a thought, a preacher's standard of living should never be much higher than the people in his congregation. He needs to be able to relate to his people in this way. I once heard of an evangelist who made fun of people who shop at Walmart; who doesn't shop at Walmart?!? This evangelist effectively isolated himself from his audience in one simple sentence that he probably said for a cheap laugh. On the flip side, I do not think a pastor's standard of living should be grossly lower than that of his congregation.
What does it all come down to? Humility. God has not called me into the ministry to lord it over my congregation. The ministry is not a "get rich quick" scheme. The ministry isn't about how many Bibles I can sign in my lifetime or how many people can say that I'm there favorite preacher. The ministry is first about JESUS and secondly about OTHERS. Let us not forget that.
If you are in the ministry, please take a second, right now, to evaluate why you do what you do. So many of us have become so irrelevant to our people, and it's not because God's Word is irrelevant; it is because we have made ourselves irrelevant by our lifestyle.
I applaud the Pope for saying this. I think so often those of us in the ministry lose our focus. We have all seen the preachers who drive a brand new Rolls Royce, wear the brand new, super expensive tux to church, and building themselves beautiful, ornate offices simply to stroke their ego's. These things ought not so to be. Ministry is all about people. My purpose in the ministry is to snatch as many people out of the fires of Hell as I possibly can. Unfortunately, when preachers lose their focus they isolate themselves from the people they are trying to reach. Here is a thought, a preacher's standard of living should never be much higher than the people in his congregation. He needs to be able to relate to his people in this way. I once heard of an evangelist who made fun of people who shop at Walmart; who doesn't shop at Walmart?!? This evangelist effectively isolated himself from his audience in one simple sentence that he probably said for a cheap laugh. On the flip side, I do not think a pastor's standard of living should be grossly lower than that of his congregation.
What does it all come down to? Humility. God has not called me into the ministry to lord it over my congregation. The ministry is not a "get rich quick" scheme. The ministry isn't about how many Bibles I can sign in my lifetime or how many people can say that I'm there favorite preacher. The ministry is first about JESUS and secondly about OTHERS. Let us not forget that.
If you are in the ministry, please take a second, right now, to evaluate why you do what you do. So many of us have become so irrelevant to our people, and it's not because God's Word is irrelevant; it is because we have made ourselves irrelevant by our lifestyle.
Monday, July 1, 2013
Why Do We Expect the World To Act Like Christians When Christians Don't Act Like Christians?
We live in crazy times. It seems like with every passing day the world is getting worse and worse. Some Christians have started to cry foul. They have taken to Facebook to complain about the state of our nation or they will sit around their dinner table and discuss how terrible things have gotten. Some have turned to political activism and picket city hall or attend meetings. I am in no way criticizing political activism, but I have seen, especially lately, that some Christians have taken to political activism but have neglected their duty as a Christian. I hear complaints all the time about how our nation is going morally down the tubes, but the same people that complain are the ones that do not go to church. I said in my sermon yesterday, "If you do not take the time to go to church, then you have no business to complain about how our nation is becoming." Why? Because a strong nation is built by strong churches. Why does it seem like Christians are losing the battle in our country? Because we are not willing to act like Christians. In my independent Baptist circles there is so much infighting, so much hatred, so little reaching out that it is no wonder that the world doesn't take us seriously. What am I trying to say? As Christians, we need to take a good long look at ourselves and figure out what we are doing wrong. I believe that when we are honest with ourselves we will see that our biggest problem is that we are not as consecrated to God as we should be. We haven't given ourselves wholly to God, and now we are seeing the consequences of the world calling us out on it. Why is the United States failing morally? The Bible says that it is because of us, "If MY people, which are called by MY name, will humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked way, then will I hear from Heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land." This nation is not being ruined by the homosexual crowd, the abortion crowd, or the evolution crowd; it is being ruined by Christians who are not willing to humble themselves, pray, and turn from their wicked ways. How sobering! So let me ask you, are you being part of the problem or part of the solution? If we had churches and Christians who were completely given to God, I believe we can see a revival the likes of which we have never seen before. Pray for revival! Start by praying for yourself.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Fully Rely On God
So, it has been years since I have posted. I am now the assistant pastor of a church plant in Frederick, MD. Check out our web site at www.ballengercreekbaptist.org. As I embark on this new journey in my life: marriage, pastoring, parenting (a lot has happened in these few years!) I can't help but ask my self whether or not God really can use me. Why should he? There is nothing special about Curtis King; I am not some spiritual giant! But then I stop to think about some of the heroes in the Bible. You know, men like Moses, Abraham, and David were just normal everyday guys. They were a lot like you and me. The difference between the great Bible heroes of old and Christians today is that those men understood how big of a God they served. Yes, sometimes they faltered (Abraham and Hagar, David and Bathsheba) but it is pretty clear that when they were walking with God and fully relying on Him, that was when great things happened. So what? I see two thinks out of this: 1. As a pastor and a Christian I must fully rely on God. 2. As a church, we must fully rely on God. A lot of churches rely on programs, activities, musicals, and cook-outs for their growth. Other churches rely on their outreach ministry for growth. There is nothing wrong with these things, especially the outreach ministry, we must reach out to our community and we must do door to door visitation. But are we relying on that? Am I relying on how many doors I knocked this week instead of relying on God? I have often heard a phrase "Pray like it all depends on God; work like it all depends on you." I agree completely with this statement. God will not bless a church or a Christian who will not work, but on the flip side, God will not use a Christian or a church that is relying on their work rather than on their God. All that was to say this one simple thing: God WILL use Curtis King and Ballenger Creek Baptist Church when we sincerely believe that GOD will give the increase. I want to see a great work done in Frederick, so does God; I do not want to be the one to hold God's blessings back on my city. Ultimately, when we are fully relying on God, he will get the glory for the great work done in the church and in the changed lives of people. Isn't that what we are here for? to glorify God? Yes! So here is my challenge to myself and to whoever may read this (you know, the thousands of people just dying to read what I have to say!): Trust God! Everything else will fail you! People will fail you, programs will fail you, outreach ministries, yes, will fail you. There is only ONE person who we can trust and that is God. Lean not unto thine own understanding, in ALL thy ways acknowledge Him. Then and only then will we see God truly use our feeble attempts. If you are reading this, please pray for me and for Ballenger Creek Baptist Church, that we will fully rely on God and that we will reach the city of Frederick, MD for the glory of God. Thank you!
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Research Paper on the Holy Spirit
I realized that I haven't posted in a while so I decided to post my research paper that I turned in today. It's not a masterpiece but you can read it. Maybe you can also give me more info for my oral exam coming up. Here it is:
The Holy Spirit is one of the most argued figures in the entire Bible. Most “Christian” religions claim him but most of them contradict each other. Jehovah’s Witnesses belief that He is nothing more than a force, Charismatic’s teach that His main ministry is gift’s giving, etc. We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third member of the Trinity, with a distinct personality and many duties. The Bible has a whole lot of stuff to say about the Holy Spirit but the big problem is that you cannot simply go to one passage to learn about who the Holy Spirit is. Teachings of the Holy Spirit are mentioned a verse here and a chapter there throughout the Old and New Testament that it actually requires us to study deeply and compare Scripture with Scripture; this is why there are so many false teachings about the Holy Spirit, people aren’t willing to study deeply. It is important that one draws his conclusions of the Holy Spirit from Biblical teachings. In this paper, I will strive to show that the Holy Spirit is God from Scriptures.
One way that we can see that the Holy Spirit is God is that there are places in the Bible that say that he is God. Acts 5:3-4 says, “But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.” In this passage we see that Peter interchangeably uses the Holy Spirit and God, as if they are the same. The reason is, is that they are the same. Another passage where we see that God and the Holy Spirit are interchangeable is in 1st Corinthians. Chapter 3:16 says that we are the temple of God but 6:19 says that we are the temple of the Holy Ghost. This argument, that the Bible equates God and the Holy Spirit, is probably the strongest that there is on the Holy Spirit’s deity.
Another great argument for the deity of the Holy Spirit is that the Bible associates the Holy Spirit with the other members of the Trinity. Of course, we know that the Holy Spirit is a member of the Trinity but for those who don’t know, the Bible makes it very clear. Some would argue that there are times that the Bible puts God the Father and the Son together and exclude the Holy Spirit and this is true; but when the Trinity is mentioned, it never says, the Father, the Son, and Gabriel” or any other name. The third member of the Trinity is the Holy Spirit, there is no one else who fills in that spot. One passage in particular where this occurs is in Matt 28:19 which says, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:” Another passage that one should note is 1st John 5:7, “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” Of course, there are other times where the Holy Spirit is said to be part of the Trinity but will not be discussed for sake of paper space.
Another way that we can see that the Holy Spirit is God is by His attributes and actions. This argument takes up a lot of Scripture and a whole lot is to be said about the Holy Spirit’s attributes and actions. There are several attributes given to the Holy Spirit that are divine. For instance, Hebrews 9:14 calls the Holy Spirit eternal, “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” Eternality is an attribute that is only given to God because although us human beings will live forever either in Heaven or Hell that is not what eternality is. Eternality is eternally past and eternally future. So we see from this passage that the Holy Spirit had no beginning; the Holy Spirit was present during creation, he existed before creation, he always has been and he always will be. Another attribute that ascribes deity to the Holy Spirit is His holiness. The attribute of the Holy Spirit being holy is his greatest attribute. He is not called the Love Spirit or the Joy Spirit, he is called the Holy Spirit. In fact, the term “Holy Spirit” or “Holy Ghost” is used in the Bible 90 times. To be holy means to be set apart from sin and iniquity. The word “holy” literally means to be physically pure and morally blameless. Sinlessness is an attribute that only God can have. Another attribute that is given to the Holy Spirit is omnipresence. Psalm 139:7 says, “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, behold, thou art there.” So we see that the psalmist asks where he can be where the Holy Spirit is not at but then answers his own question and says that the Holy Spirit is everywhere. Another passage that should comfort every Christians heart concerning the omnipresence of the Holy Spirit is John 14:17 which says that the Holy Spirit will dwell in us. If the Holy Spirit can dwell in me, here in the United States and in a missionary in China all at the same time, it is not a great stretch to say that he is everywhere. After all, one cannot be in two places at the same time unless he were everywhere at the same time. The omniscience of the Holy Spirit is another great attribute that he possesses. First Corinthians 2:10-11 says, “But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.” For the Holy Spirit to know the “deep things of God” he would have to be God. God’s ways are not understood by anyone less than God (Isaiah 55:8) So we see, if God knows all things, and the Holy Spirit knows all things of God, then the Holy Spirit is God. The Holy Spirit is also omnipotent, which means that he has the power to do anything that his will and nature allows Him to do. Zechariah 4:6 shows the contrast between the limitation of man and the limitlessness of the Holy Spirit. It says, “Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.” So we see that if the Holy Spirit is making up for our lack of capability with his unlimited amount of power than he must be God.[1] Another interesting attribute that the Holy Spirit claims is being truth. First John 5:6 says that the Spirit is truth. This is important because not only does the Spirit claim to be truth but so does Christ. We see in John 14:6, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” This paper is not to prove the deity of Christ, which we easily could but we know that Jesus is God and that he is a member of the Trinity. If Jesus is truth and the Holy Spirit is truth then they are one and the same which shows that the Holy Spirit is God. So we see through a handful of the Holy Spirit’s attributes that he is God.
Next let’s look at the actions of the Holy Spirit. Of course, there are times when the Holy Spirit’s attributes go hand in hand with his actions but his actions have a great significance in showing that he is God. First we see that the Holy Spirit created all things. The second verse in the entire Bible attests to the fact that the Holy Spirit created all things. Gen 1:2 says, “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.” So we become aware that not only was the Holy Spirit present for creation but that he was involved. Psalm 104:30 also says, “Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.” Another great act we see, which we hold in our hands today is the inspiration of the Word of God. 2nd Peter 1:21 says, “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” So we see that the Holy Spirit gave the prophets of old to say. If you compare that to 2nd Timothy 3:16 you see that God inspired the Scriptures. So since they are used interchangeably we know that the Holy Spirit is God. 2nd Samuel 23:2 also says, “The Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in my tongue.” So we see the work of inspiration was an act of the Holy Spirit.[2] Another action of the Holy Spirit which proves his deity is that he is the giver of life. John 6:63 says, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” The word quickeneth means “to make alive”. Life giving is an action of God. So we see that if the Holy Spirit gives life then he is God. Along those lines we see that Christ was conceived in the womb of Mary by the Holy Spirit. Matthew 1:20 says, “But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.” I can’t begin to explain how this happened or how it worked but it is an act of God nonetheless. It is good for us to remember that God did say that his ways are not our ways. We cannot understand everything that God does but we can see that it was a divine work and miracle anyway. Another work that the Holy Spirit does is the act of regeneration. John 3 talks about Jesus and Nicodemus sitting and talking about being “born again” and then in verse eight he mentions being born of the Spirit. It does not need to be argued that our salvation has nothing to do with us but it has everything to do with God. The Holy Spirit does the action of regeneration when we get saved.[3] So we can see through these actions and others that are not in this paper that the Holy Spirit is God.
In conclusion, I believe that to argue that the Holy Spirit is not God is a very uneducated belief. One cannot objectively search the Scriptures without seeing the deity of the Holy Spirit throughout. Let’s never forget that the very Bible that we hold in our hand and the simple fact that we are saved is a proof that the Holy Spirit is God. What an amazing truth!
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