Experiencing God By His Spirit

The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the face of the deep, and the spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 
— Genesis 1:2

The mightiest power in the universe comes upon an earth that is empty and without form. That power is the “spirit of God.”[1] It hovers over the surface of the waters and brings the energy of creation to bear on the globe. Yet, look at another scene:

Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David from that day forward (1 Samuel 16:13, NRSV).

Amazing! The same power that gave form to our planet now comes upon a lad in Judea. It is so mighty that it effected creation — yet, so gentle that it can affect an individual human life.

The Spirit of the Father

He who sits on the throne of the universe is present to work with his creation — he causes life to teem forth on the earth, and gives Israel’s future king extraordinary knowledge, understanding and wisdom. These things happen because the spirit of the LORD is at work. God, who is the Father of us all, is able to be on his throne in the heavens and yet at the same time create life on earth or touch his servant David.

It is the presence of the LORD himself that comes upon David. Such coming of God’s presence was something his people coveted and depended on. Notice this exchange between God and Moses about going into the land of Canaan:

“My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.” And Moses said to him, “If your presence will not go, do not send us on from here” (Exodus 33:14, 15).[2]

Who would not love to experience the tangible presence of God? David and Moses did. By that presence amazing things happened. If we today experience God directly, it will be by that same presence or spirit.

Two Ways the Father Works

Because of God’s love, he works for the good of people. There are two ways in which he accomplishes his purposes in the world:

(1) Personal Action — He works directly. Here he extends himself personally. He moves by his “hand” (Exodus 7:5); his “outstretched arm” (Deuteronomy 11:2); his “power” (Exodus 32:11); his “wind,” “spirit” or “breath” ( Job 26:13; 37:10). He speaks, and at his “word” light springs forth out of darkness (Genesis 1:3). These are not persons or emissaries. These attributes do not have their own unique personalities separate from the Father. Rather, they are God: aspects of the Father himself. What is accomplished by the spirit of God is rightly said to have been done by God. It is the Father in motion, God himself in action. How extraordinarily blessed is the person who experiences God in this way. [3]

(2) Through His Agents — He works through others. … He equips and authorizes intermediaries. They are his angels, prophets, rulers and deliverers. These are separate entities from him. They have their own unique personalities. As his agents, he gives them authority to speak and act on his behalf. They themselves are directly affected by the presence of God. The work of God is then extended to others through them.[4]

While these agents are not God, he does identify himself with those he commissions. To reject someone God sends is effectively to reject God. To receive one God sends is by extension to receive him. What is accomplished by his intermediaries is often said to have been done by God.[5] It is he who authorized and empowered their work. Happy are those whom God blesses through his envoys. [Jesus the] Messiah — his true human son. He is God’s ultimate representative.

His Spirit is Him

O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, you are enthroned between the cherubim; you alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth (Isaiah 37:16).

Hezekiah’s words above bring us to the God of the universe. There is only one who is “enthroned between the cherubim.” He is the LORD [YAHWEH]. He “alone” is “God of all the kingdoms of the earth.” It is he who “made heaven and earth.” Just as when Isaiah saw God (Isaiah 6:1), Hezekiah also speaks of one throne and only one individual who sits on the throne. There is no throne for the “hand of God” or the “power of God.” Neither is there a throne for the “spirit of God.” These are not separate individuals from the Father. By his own hand, power, spirit and presence he extends himself to his creation. The spirit of God is the Father himself at work. New Testament theologian James D. G. Dunn in his important book, Christology in the Making, writes concerning the spirit of God:

On this understanding, Spirit of God is in no sense distinct from God, but is simply the power of God, God himself acting powerfully in nature and upon men. … Not merely of a power from God, but the power of God, of God himself putting forth efficacious energy.[6]

The idea that God’s spirit is a separate person from the Father developed among Gentile Christians in post-biblical times. It became an essential element of the doctrine of the Trinity. Here again, the word “person” is used not in the sense of a human being, but rather of any individual with a unique personality. Complicated and confusing, the idea of God’s spirit as a person in addition to the Father is unknown to people in the Bible. To them, the spirit of God is not a separate agent or person of co-Deity. Rather, it is the Father in action.[7] What has been done by the hand or spirit of God has literally been done by the Father himself.

The hand, arm, power, breath, spirit and word of a human being are not persons or different personalities as such. Neither are the various aspects of God.[8] The spirit of YHWH is literally YHWH himself. Anthony Buzzard puts it this way:

“The spirit of God was not a different Person from God Himself, any more than the ‘spirit of Elijah’ (2 Kings 2:15) meant a person other than Elijah.”[9]

That has also been and continues to be the orthodox Jewish understanding of the spirit of God. Orthodox Judaism disavows any notion that God’s spirit is a person or individual with an independent personality from that of the Father. The Dictionary of Judaism in the Biblical Period indicates:

Just as “spirit” was considered the essence of human life, so analogously the term “spirit” was used of the presence, activity and power of God.[10]

If we say that aspects of God are “persons,” then how many “persons” might we find? How many shall we serve? To the people of the Bible, God’s power or spirit are no more separate from the Father than are his “eyes” which are on the righteous, or his “ears” which are open to their cry (Psalm 34:15).

His people of old find that there is a personality in the spirit of God. However, it is the personality of the Father. If people resist the outstretched hand of God they have resisted God himself (Isaiah 14:27). If they grieve his spirit, they have grieved him (Isaiah 63:10; Ephesians 4:30). To cause anguish to the heart or spirit of someone is to grieve the one whose heart or spirit it is. When people have grieved God’s heart or his spirit, it is the Father himself that they have offended.

There is only one throne (Isaiah 6:1). To say that God’s spirit or any other aspect of him is a separate person from the Father is to say that the one on the throne is not the only one who is God. It is to say that there is another God-person who is with him; another who is like him.[11]  Again, that violates his first priority:

For I am God, and there is no one else; I am God, and there is no one like me (Isaiah 46:9).

The spirit of God is not another who is “like” the Father — it is the Father in action. Again, he speaks to that matter in Isaiah the 40th chapter. Rhetorically, he asks:

“To whom then will you compare me? Who is my equal?” says the Holy One (Isaiah 40:25).

There is no one who is his equal; no one with whom to compare him. It is not “they” who are God. It is him. He is God and he alone.

There is no throne for the “hand of God”
or the “power of God.” There is no
throne for the “spirit of God.”

God’s Spirit Has No Personal Name

We also see that the spirit of God is not another person from the Father in that it has no personal name. Just as our various features and exercises of our powers as human beings do not have personal names, neither do his. They are the “hand of the LORD” (Isaiah 66:14); “his holy arm” (Isaiah 52:10); “his mighty power” (Psalm 106:8). His spirit is “the spirit of God” (2 Chronicles 15:1); “the spirit of the LORD” (2 Samuel 23:2) or “his holy spirit” (Isaiah 63:10, 11).[12]

The Bible never says that terms like “spirit of God,” “holy spirit,” “the holy spirit,” etc. are proper/personal names. No one in the Bible ever treated those terms as though they were.[13] The word “holy” is an adjective modifying the noun “spirit.” That identifies the nature of the spirit that God has: It is holy! When the definite article is added, it points us to God’s spirit as being one often referenced and at the same time unique.

In “YHWH,” God himself has a personal name. Likewise, human beings, including the Messiah, have personal names. Even angels of God are known by name (Luke 1:19; Jude 1:9). Theologians who in the centuries after the Bible was written began construing God’s spirit as a separate person of Deity from the Father, were left with the peculiar problem that the new “God-person” had no proper name. It was difficult to envision a nameless God. The problem was never adequately resolved and the tendency became to just treat words like “holy spirit,” etc. as though they somehow were a name for this supposed additional person of Deity.

One Amazing Almighty

He who lives in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will declare of the LORD, “He is my refuge, my fortress; my God in whom I trust” (Psalm 91:1, 2).

God’s Omnipotence

There is only one who is Most High — one who is Almighty. The psalmist tells us, “He is my refuge.” If the Father is truly almighty, then he can do all things by his own power. While he uses his angels and human emissaries in his work with humanity, he needs no other as God. With the Father alone, all things are possible. If not, then he isn’t truly almighty.

In the Bible, it is never the almighty “two” or “three” who are God — it is the almighty “one.” The Father himself has an “arm” which he stretches out to his people. He has his own immeasurable power, his own spirit, hand, breath. What is it that needs to be done by God that he cannot do for himself? There is an absolute singularity in the omnipotence of God. It is the Father that we are limiting when we think that his spirit is another person of Deity.

A striking example of the fact that the spirit of God is the Father in action is found in the opening of Matthew’s Gospel. Matthew writes that Jesus was begotten in Mary by God’s spirit (Matthew 1:18, 20). To the people of the Bible, that is one and the same as saying that God fathered this child by the extension of his own miraculous power. What has been done by God’s spirit has literally been done by the Father himself. Hence, Jesus never says that a “person” by the name of the “Holy Spirit” was his Father. Rather, he affirms that he is the son of God (Matthew 16:16, 17).

God’s Omnipresence

Who then is everywhere present? Notice David’s words:

O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you know my thoughts from afar (Psalm 139:1, 2).

Who is it who knows when David sits and when he rises? Who is it who knows his thoughts from afar? It is the LORD. The omnipresence of God is not achieved by his sending another person of Deity called “The Spirit.” Rather, it is by the literal presence of the Father himself.

The wonder of God’s spirit is not that it is another person from the Father: It isn’t. The truth is more amazing than that. The wonder is that the Father is so mighty that he can sit on the throne of the universe and yet at the same time be moving upon the earth. By his own spirit, he can be in more than one place at a time. He really is Almighty!

With the Father alone, all things are possible.
If not, then he isn’t truly almighty.

Whom Shall We Worship?

But the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt with great power and an outstretched arm is the one to whom you must give worship. To him you shall bow down and to him make sacrifices (2 Kings 17:36).

To his people of old, worshipping anyone or anything as being God of the universe other than the LORD himself is unimaginable. They will magnify the one on the throne for his “great power and outstretched arm.” But, the command is to worship the one whose great power and arm they are. It is to him that they shall bow down. They direct their worship to the LORD himself — not to his spirit as though it were another person. Notice these words from the 139th Psalm:

Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast (Psalm 139:7–10, NRSV).[14]

David extols the one on the throne for his spirit, his presence. He marvels at the “hand of God that will lead him” and at God’s “right hand that will hold him fast.” Yet, David is not addressing worship to the “spirit” of God or to his “hand.” All of the praise is to the one whose spirit and hand they are. In the Bible, people do not address worship to aspects or facets of God.

To his people of old, it would make no sense to give thanks directly to the “hand of God” or the “spirit of God.” It would be like a man being handed a gift from a friend and then thanking “the hand” of his friend. What one’s hand has done, the friend himself has done. The thanksgiving then is to the friend — the entire person — not to his “hand.” Again, in the Scriptures, they thank God himself for what is done. They do not directly thank his “power” or his “spirit.”

God’s people of old bow to the Father on his throne. They bow to his kings and to his Messiah after he is born.[15] However, from Genesis to Revelation, neither angels nor human beings are ever said to bow before the holy spirit of God.

Likewise, no one in the Bible ever prayed to the “spirit of God.” Just as praise and thanksgiving are directed to the one on the throne, so also are prayers and requests for help. This is the case even when the prayer is in regard to God’s presence or spirit.

Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me (Psalm 51:11, NRSV).[16]

People in the Bible do not pray to God’s spirit asking it to come or to remain with them. All requests are made to the one whose spirit it is. Again, it would be like desiring that a friend would hand you something, and then asking his hand itself to do it. The requests are made to the friend — the whole person — not to his hand.

An Apology to the Father

The doctrine of the Trinity came into existence in the centuries after the Bible was written. With that came liturgy, prayers and worship directed to the spirit of God. Most Christians today are not aware that there was no creedal statement on the spirit of God as a separate person of Deity until it was asserted at a council in Alexandria in 362 CE and set in creed at the Council of Constantinople in 381 CE. That creed set forward the post-biblical idea that God’s spirit is to be worshipped and glorified as a person along with the Father and the Son.

Now, people sometimes express concern because there is a tendency for Christians to worship the “Spirit of God” with less passion or reverence than the Father. The concern is that the “Spirit” is being slighted. However, to the people of the Bible, such a concern is entirely backwards. It is the Father who is diminished when people worship his spirit as though it were a person in itself. It is the Father to whom we owe apologies.

God never directs anyone in the Bible to pray to “his hand” or to “his spirit.” Most Christians find it awkward to pray to God’s spirit. We are sometimes prompted to do so by modern Christian ministers.[17] Everyone should be aware that in the Bible itself, people did not pray to the spirit of God. Our tendency to shrink from praying to his spirit is actually scripturally well grounded. We should not allow ourselves as Christians today to be pressed into doing something that God’s people in the Bible did not do.

In the same vein, God never commands anyone in the Bible to direct worship to his hand or to his spirit. No one in the Bible does. The commands are to worship God himself. They sing songs to God. They pray to him. When they worship God, they extol all of his attributes and virtues. They laud his mighty power and his holy spirit! But as they do so — they look upward. Their words are addressed to the one on the throne.

Jesus is our perfect example in all spiritual things. He leaves no room for doubt about the matters we have been considering concerning God’s spirit. Jesus never prays to the “spirit of God.” His prayers are to the Father. There is no example where Jesus is said to “speak” with God’s spirit or have a conversation with “the spirit of God.” He speaks to God himself. Let us as Christians follow the example of Jesus. Let our prayers and worship be to the God whose holy spirit it is. Let us pray to the Father as Jesus did (Matthew 6:9–15).[18]

Shall We Rob God?

For my own sake, it is for my own sake, I will do this. How can I let my name be dishonored? I will not yield my glory to another (Isaiah 48:11).

The One God speaks. He tells of his glory as sovereign God. Who is this one? It is the LORD (v. 1, 2). If we judge him to be true, then let us serve him as God and no other. Let us give him all of the glory due God Almighty. He has given glory to his angels. He has given glory to men. From the beginning, he had a great glory in store to give his Messiah after he is born. The glory of actually being the God of the universe, however, he shares with no one.

We have misused the concept of God’s own spirit to create in our minds another “person” of Deity. No such person exists in reality. This idea has for centuries robbed people of a clear understanding of the absolute sovereignty of God. It has caused people unwittingly to give honor and glory that are due our Father to an imagined person of Deity.

We must not rob God. If we give honor to anyone or anything as being God Almighty other than the one who is saying to the prophet above, “I will not yield my glory to another,” we have robbed him. We have given a glory that is his alone to someone or something else. God’s spirit is not a separate person or personality to be worshipped. It is an exciting, extraordinary facet of the Father. God’s spirit is Deity. However, that Deity is the Father. People in post-biblical times by their teaching and creeds made God’s spirit into a separate person of co-Deity. In doing so, they divided the glory that is due our Father alone.

It is the Father that we are limiting
when we think that his spirit
is another person of Deity.

The Same One — Near and Far

It is an awesome divide. God sits in the heavens. We live out our lives upon the earth. As human beings we lack the strength and virtue to bridge the distance between ourselves and him. How can we know him? He answers that question for us:

The LORD declares: “Am I a God who is only nearby, and not also far away? Can anyone hide himself from me in secret places so that I cannot see him?” says the LORD. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” (Jeremiah 23:23, 24).

It is the same one who is both near and far. The distance between God and humanity truly is an awesome divide. Yet that distance has been bridged by God himself. By his spirit, the Father has reached out to us and works directly for his people. It is the exact same one who is nearby, far away, and fills heaven and earth. He is wholly sufficient. The Father  alone is God.
SOURCE

[1.] The Hebrew word for “spirit” here is ruach. It is used variously to indicate “breath” or “spirit” of man and other living beings (Gen. 6:17; 7:15, 22). It is also used to indicate the spirit of God (Gen. 6:3). In Genesis 1:2, the New Revised Standard Version and the Tanakh ( Jewish Publication Society) both translate ruach with one of its most essential meanings, “wind.”

[2.] The New Living Translation captures the sense, “I will personally go.”

[3.] Chapters 6 and 7 of  J. Dan Gill’s book, THE ONE: In Defense of God (TN: 21st Century Reformation Publishing, 2016) take up the matter of God’s direct work by his spirit and his word. We do not have space in this writing to provide an exhaustive study of the word “spirit.” For a range of uses of the word ruach, and further insights regarding pneumatology in the Hebrew Bible, see The Brown- Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2000), 924-6.
For a good overview regarding the spirit of God in the Old and New Testaments see Sean Finnegan’s article, “An Unitarian View of the Holy Spirit,” 21st Century Reformation, A Biblical Unitarian View of the Holy Spirit – Sean Finnegan.

[4.] Exodus 33 provides an example of the difference between God’s own presence and that of his agents. God had told Moses he would send an emissary (his angel) to go before him (Exodus 33:1–3). Moses, however, desired that God would personally go with him in his presence (Exodus 33:14, 15).

[5.] This has led to people sometimes confusing God’s agents with God himself. E.g. God speaking through an angel has led some to suppose that the angel himself is God.
See chapter 8 of J. Dan Gill, THE ONE: In Defense of God (TN: 21st Century Reformation Publishing, 2016) .

[6.] James D. G. Dunn, Christology in the Making, 2nd Edition (London: SCM Press, 2003), 133, emphasis his.

[7.] Or in the New Testament also the risen/glorified Jesus (Acts 16:7).

[8.] It is recognized, of course, that aspects or attributes of God are at times personified. For example, God’s wisdom is personified as a woman in Proverbs 8:1ff. Ruach is typically translated in the Septuagint by pneuma.

[9.] Anthony Buzzard, Jesus was not a Trinitarian (Morrow, GA: Restoration Fellowship, 2007), 152.

[10.] “Holy Spirit,” Jacob Neusner, William Scott Green editors, Dictionary of Judaism in the Biblical Period (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1999), 298.

[11.] Of course, human beings are made in the “likeness of God” (Gen. 5:1) and therefore like him in some respects. That remains the case even after Adam’s disobedience (1 Cor. 11:7). After the Messiah is born, he is the perfect human image of God (2 Cor. 4:4). Nevertheless, in a still greater sense, the true God is in a class by himself. In that regard, there is no one like him.

[12.] It is typical in our Christian translations to find “Spirit” capitalized when referring to the spirit of God, thus implying a separate person is intended. However, there were no upper/lower case distinctions in ancient biblical Hebrew or Greek and it is purely the translator’s decision to capitalize. Translators typically do not capitalize other words which reference aspects of God (hand, arm, etc.). Doing so with the word “spirit” reflects a widespread bias in support of the post-biblical Trinitarian tradition of the spirit of God as being a separate person from the Father. When “spirit” is used with reference to the spirit of God, the King James Version has instances in which it is not capitalized (e.g. Gen. 6:3; Num. 11:29; Isa. 11:2; Micah 3:8). The NRSV and certain others tend not to capitalize spirit when translating the Hebrew Bible. The best Jewish versions of course do not capitalize the word spirit when referring to the spirit of God.

[13.] The reference in Matthew 28:19 does not present “Father,” “Son” or “Holy Spirit” in themselves as being proper/personal names. My point is that the Father and the Son do have personal names whereas the spirit of God does not.

[14.] Emphasis added.

[15.] The reader will find a fuller consideration regarding worship of God’s kings and of the Messiah
in chapter 9 of J. Dan Fill, THE ONE: In Defense of God (TN: 21st Century Reformation Publishing, 2016) .

[16.] Emphasis added.

[17.] Various examples of this are found in modern pop-theology. E.g., Benny Hinn, Good Morning Holy Spirit (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2004); Francis Chan, Forgotten God (Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook Publishing, 2009) and Robert Morris, The God I Never Knew (Colorado Springs, CO: WaterBrook Press, 2011).

[18.] Theologians have long struggled to convince the church-going public that they should pray to and worship God’s spirit as though it were a person. Today their cause is better advanced by well-intended Christian song writers and musical artists. Those unsuspecting people are found using their considerable talents to persuade the public by songs that they should treat the spirit of God as a separate person. They could save the Christian community a great deal of error and confusion by modeling their songs about the spirit after songs (psalms) in the Bible. Again, those songs address worship to God, the One whose spirit it is (Psalm 139:7–10; 104:30; 143:10).