Holy Spirit

alright, i tried the googles. too much mess out there. would someone please explain the Holy Spirit to me? i realized my christian upbringing did not really delve into the holy spirit. mostly, it was teachings about God and Jesus, with Jesus edging out God now and again (which i disagreed with, but who ya gonna tell, right?). so i don't really know much about the power, the purpose of the Holy Spirit. i'm not interested in the trinity perspective, but more of a standalone Holy Spirit.

i'd be much obliged

 

Dang -- it figures that R&S would start clicking right before I'm gonna be offline for a week.

If nobody else takes a stab at it, I'll be very happy to as soon as I get back.

 

I'm sure those who adhere to a "trinity" belief will disagree with me; but here is the perspective I had on it when I was a practicing Christian.

The church I belonged to saw God as a family, consisting of Father and Son, the son being Jesus the Christ. "God" was viewed as sort of a surname or family name, like Smith, describing what they are. The son was seen as having pre-existed his incarnation as Jesus, who was both divine & human.

The Holy Spirit was not viewed by this church as a separate person. It was viewed as a power or energy emanating from the God family--sort of in the same way that electricity emanates from a generator, but on a much grander scale. It was bestowed upon believers who followed the command to repent & be baptized, dwelling within the believer as a sort of living, energetic connection to God. It was a way of being energetically in touch with God at all times, of having one's mind & conscience constantly able to be "in touch" with God on a personal level. And the more one sought & submitted to the guidance of this spirit/energy, the stronger it became within the person, aiding in that person's growth in faith & understanding, & in overcoming one's limited, fleshly nature.

That may not be what you're looking for, but I still--even as the pagan that I currently am--find it a fascinating & valid point of view

 

thanks ak. as usual, you have a way of explaining things that 'speaks' to me. i fully agree with your statement i bolded and that is exactly the evolution i feel myself going through. however, i'm not sure if it is the Holy Spirit. it doesn't matter to me if it is or not, i have just gotten curious as to what the Holy Spirit is exactly.

that is what i had an idea the Holy Spirit was, but was never given more than a general idea by church teachings. i honestly never gave the Holy Spirit much thought until recently. i have been reading the Tao verses and trying to incorporate the thoughts behind them more and more into my daily life. i am not seeking anything, but i am interested in better understanding my connection to everyone and everything around me. as i am getting more acquainted with it all, i began to wonder if what connects us all is the Holy Spirit and that is what i am tapping in to. it is kind of a new reference point for me because i believe in God (my Higher Power) and i honestly never revered Jesus as Christians do. the more i focus on the possiblility that what is unveiling before me through the reading and practice of the Tao verses is understanding the Holy Spirit, the more i feel myself evolving and broadening my mind and heart to those society looks down upon and judges and those society looks up to and judges. i've always had compassion, that's not what i'm referring to here. it is more of an understanding. we are all connected. we all come from the same Source and we all carry that Source within us. i don't believe it is reserved for believers or those baptized, but i do think it is a guide for the life we are intended to live and that intent is the pure energy instilled in us at conception from our Source. how much we individually get to know our energy and trust our energy enough to drop our own ego-driven thoughts on how our life should be, determines our lifelong path. does that make sense?

now, is that source what some call God or is it the Holy Spirit? does the Holy Spirit go beyond human and dwell in all the objects on/of the Earth and universe? are we born with the Holy Spirit or do we attain it at some point? is the purpose of the Holy Spirit to connect us all or just connect us to God?

 

The Holy Spirit

That's a very good question, which could go on and on....ha. The Holy Spirit is a person, the third person of the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He is not some vague, ethereal shadow, nor an impersonal force. He is a person and He is equal in every way with the Father and the Son. All of the divine attributes ascribed to the Father and the Son are equally ascribed to the Holy Spirit. They are three persons united in one being called God.
This person is God. He does things only God can do and fits descriptions only God can fit. For instance, He is active in creation (Genesis 1:2), salvation (John 3:6), revealing God's Word (2 Timothy 3:16), and in sanctification (2 Thessalonians 2:13), He is described as having Holiness (Luke 11:13), eternality (Hebrews 9:14), omniscience (1 Corinthians 2:10-11), omnipresence (Psalm 139:7), and truth (John 14:17).
The Holy Spirit's function is to be our Comforter, who is sent by the Father and the Son to draw along side us in our distress (John 14:26). Another role of the Holy Spirit is that He indwells us, enabling us to live the life of Christ (1 Corinthians 3:16), and He is the revealer of God's Word, through whom Christ promised the New Testament with the words, "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.: (John 16:13)
When you become a Christian, the Holy Spirit does a number of things for you and in you. He is the One who gave you a new life in Christ by the new birth (John 3:5). He baptized you into the body of Christ at the same time (1 Corinthians 12:13). From then on, He indwells you (1 Corinthians 3:16), and you are sealed until Christ comes to get you (Ephesians 4:30), He is the one who brings us the new life and helps us to live that life.
In addition to that, the Spirit bears witness to us that we are children of God (Romans 8:16) so that we can be convinced of our salvation and of God's love for us (Romans 5:5). When we pray and don't know what to pray for or can't find the words, the Spirit takes over and prays for us. In this way, the Spirit intercedes for us in our prayers and translates the burden of our hearts into a prayer which lines up with the will of God (Romans 8:26-27).
Every Christian has the Holy Spirit indwelling him, and anyone who doesn't is not a Christian. But that doesn't mean that every Christian allows the Holy Spirit to influence his life. It is possible to have the Holy Spirit and still be living in the flesh. On the other hand once we begin yielding our will to God's will and walking in the power of the Spirit we can and will be filled with the Spirit.
In the Old Testament, certain people were filled with the Spirit to perform certain tasks. For instance, the artisans who worked on the tabernacle (Exodus 31:3), prophets (Numbers 11:17), political leaders, such as the Judges over Israel (Judges 6:34), both Saul and David. were all filled with the Holy Spirit (1 Samuel 10:9). But this filling was the only presence of the Spirit that believers in the Old Testament had. There was no permanent indwelling for Old Testament believers, and when they lost this filling, they were without the Spirit. While the filling of the Spirit in the New Testament is still temporary and subject to our obedience, we do not have to fear the absence of the Spirit because He indwells us as a down payment of the glorification that is to come for us and will not leave us completely (2 Corinthians 5:5)......exerpts from "JESUS IS AWESOME", by Danny Lovett.

 

thanks wl. that was a doozie.

if i go by what i think that definition of the Holy Spirit is, then it is not part of this experience for me. the Holy Spirit outlined in your explanation is more personal, like one's relationship with their Higher Power. what i am beginning to understand is more universal. perhaps it's more in line with eastern or native american religious teachings and not the Christian Trinity belief

 

Try Taosim.

http://www.eastern-philosophy-and-meditation.com/taoism.html

 

well yea. i'm reading the Tao verses (very beautiful, btw) and i guess i was just trying to relate it to something.

thanks gale. you did much better here than your bar pickup line thread

 

Sorry, I answered your first post before I read your other posts carefully. Just like everyone else, I sometimes skim over long post. I'll do better next time.

 

Yeah, what WLfan said . . . . .