Some offshoots of Christianity teach that since Jesus Christ is not specifically the Father then He can not be God.  Several sects also teach that if the Holy Spirit is sent by the Father then the Holy Spirit can not be God either.  These are both misconceptions arrived at by not following through with the Scriptures in a complete study.  What the Bible teaches (which we shall see as we progress in our lesson) is that Elohim has power to become the Father, Elohim has power to become the Son, Elohim has power to become the Holy Spirit.  And even though each One of these attributes is predominantly singular in office, there is nonetheless a blending within them.  That is to say, The Word of God (Messiah) when manifested in the Earth was predominantly the Son but He was still connected with the attributes of the Father and the Holy Spirit.  Likewise the Father is part with the Son and the Holy Spirit, yet is mostly the singular Father in personality.  The Holy Spirit is nearly all singular in "her" essence and attributes, but carries also some remaining faculties of both the Father and Son. ( English Bibles all describe the Holy Spirit as "He", however this is a Catholic error from the Latin biased translations. "Spirit" in the Hebrew is a feminine word as is also "Dove" in the N.T. Greek, the chosen symbol of Elohim for the manifestation of the Holy Spirit --much  more in a subsequent article, summer of 2004)  It is because Elohim does share an interwoven essence between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, that the believer can "house" the triune God through the indwelling of the arrival of the Holy Spirit.   Jesus said,"If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." (Jn.14:23)   This is,of course is the work of the Holy Spirit in a believer's heart (Jn.15:26;I Cor.3:16) which means that the Father and the Son are in the heart by habitation of the  the Holy Spirit, all three together.

     When Jesus said "My Father is greater than I" (Jn 14:28) He was referring the trait of authority, which is masculine and always proceeds forth from Elohim as the Father. (Jn.14:24)  Elohim as the Father sets forth all law and administration.  All is out of the Father through the Son.  This statement of Christ's does not negate His divinity, only rather explains a part of the ordered structure in the purpose of Elohim's manifestation as Christ the Son.  It was not the duty of Elohim as the Son to formulate ultimate authority, just as it was not the duty of Elohim as the Father to be crucified for our sins.  Someone could reason, for comparison's sake, that the Son "had greater love" than the Father because the Son was the one who actually died for us.  Speaking of His crucifixion Jesus said,  "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13)  Are we to actually deduce that Jesus is greater in love for us than the Father?  Most assuredly not!  Albeit, that part of Elohim which is the Father has a greater propensity toward being the source of the high law/authority; that part of Elohim which is the Son has a greater propensity toward being the source of manifested salvation; and that part of Elohim which is the Holy Spirit has a greater propensity toward being the source of nurturing, inspiration and revelation.

     What about when Jesus said to the young man, "Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God." (Mark 10:18)?  Is Jesus saying that He is not God come in the flesh? He says nothing of the sort.  Possessing divine knowledge and revelation our Savior knew this man's heart.  The man was lacking in spiritual discernment and would not be one chosen to enter into the Kingdom of God (see vs. 21-23).  The only way one enters into God's Kingdom is in fact realizing that only God Himself could pay for our sins as the person of Jesus Christ.  This man could not see Jesus in this light.  He only saw Jesus as another man.  In that regard, knowing this was a man of the flesh who could only see Jesus as flesh, Christ could indeed say, "Why call me good (if you think I am only a man)"?   This verse proves the exact opposite of those who say it means Jesus is not God.  In truth it tells us that we MUST see Him as God in order to have eternal life.  Consequently, the Bible tells us that Jesus WAS good and DIVINELY good being without even one sin. (I Pet.2:22; II Cor.5:21)

     There are those who tell us that the Holy Spirit is not God because the word "spirit" means "wind or breath" in both the Hebrew and Greek (Ruach; Pneuma) and that this is just a force and is not personal.  Yes, the Bible teaches that God's Spirit is His power and is a force. Once again though, just because the Bible does state this in certain places, it does not follow that the Holy Spirit is not a personal God (Elohim).  Let's take a row boat for example.  The way this boat moves through the water is by the oars making contact with the surface and propelling the boat forward.  A person grabs each oar with his arms and does the work by rowing.  We would not say that some impersonal force moved the oars in the proper manner to make the boat travel across the water, although a force was indeed applied.  The boat was operating under "man power".  A person who sat in the boat was the force and was an individual at the same time.  Likewise with the Holy Spirit .... the Bible tells us that this is the force of God Almighty, but it also explains that this is a personal manifestation of Elohim as well.  Elohim as the Holy Spirit IS the force AND the person of the force.  More than any aspect of Elohim, the person of the Holy Spirit is degraded and unknown to men. This is sad indeed considering that the Holy Spirit stands by us at every turn to correct our shortcomings. Many reduce this personal loving being of The Creator to a cosmic force, and almost all have the gender qualities wrong.  Yet with all this the Holy Spirit faithfully still works to convict men of their sins and bring them to the salvation of Elohim as the Son.

     There is an important study concerning the above verses in John 1:1-18  which we shall proceed with here.  The school of thought which purports Christ is NOT God does so because of the faulty reasoning: "since no man has seen God at any time" (v.18) then Jesus Christ can not be God as men plainly saw Him."  Once again, the clergy have failed miserably in transmitting to the believers the specific intent of this verse in the original Greek language.  The word used in this verse of the New Testament for "God"  is "THEOS".  In the Scriptural application of the full Godhead it is equivalent to the Hebrew "Elohim".  Although it is true that man's limited senses can not see the whole Elohim/Theos they certainly can see Elohim/Theos as He reveals Himself to men manifested as The Word Jesus Christ.  In fact, it was this intent of understanding that John penned in the first century Greek text, because it did not say "the only begotten SON ..... He hath declared Him". As John the apostle wrote it, this verse said, " No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten God, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him."  Clearly John means that since the essence of God is spiritual and invisible,  when He does manifest Himself to men it is by the physical manifestation of The Living Word --- Yahweh come in the flesh, Yahshua (Jesus) the Christ.   Note the first century Greek manuscript text below.  It is from the Concordant Greek Text, page 281, column 1 showing John 1:18.  This reference study aid contains a "sublinear English translation" with "superlinear notes" for the Bible student.  From here we see an "S 1*" above the original text, end of second line.  This means that only in one certain isolated  ancient version that had a contemporary modification of this verse, does it read "only generated (begotten) Son" instead of "only generated (begotten) God" (in this particular sentence phrase).

    Even though this chapter tells us that the Word of God was God and that this Word came to Earth as Jesus Christ, there is yet another devious teaching which attempts to divest Christ of His divinity by taking verse 18 and  further distorting it.  In this teaching it is claimed that since Jesus Christ is called "the only begotten Son of God", He therefore could not be God.  Furthermore, it is added that Jesus Christ was God's first creation, implying that God existed on His own, then at some point in time made a perfect creation which God called "His Son".  To supposedly support this heresy against the triune nature and purpose of Eternal Yahweh Elohim, proponents of this false doctrine quote Colossians 1:15 which describes Christ "Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature".   However the Scriptures are most clear that this is not to be construed that The Almighty first created His Son, and then everything else. 

     The terminology applied to Jesus Christ as being "begotten of God", "only begotten Son", and "first born" do not refer to His being created at any time, but rather to His rank over all things as a TITLE OF EMINENCE!    The Eternal Word always existed as the "Son" within Elohim because Elohim exists outside of time.  When the Bible speaks of Jesus Christ as being "begotten of God" it is in reference to His resurrection from the dead.   When it speaks of Christ being "firstborn ... before all things" it refers to His rank of power which was exhibited when He became the firstborn from the dead of our race to receive an immortal body that cannot die. Although Lazarus was raised from the dead (Jn.11:43) and saints came out of their graves at the time of Christ's resurrection (Mat.27:52) only Jesus Christ has received resurrection unto immortality and eternal life. Thus "first born" does not mean that Christ was just some initial cosmic creation.  It pertains to fullness in the order of resurrection. That Christ was "born in heaven" as a divine inferior is what the degraders of the eternal triune nature of Elohim teach.  It is blasphemous in that it denies Yahweh's promise of Himself coming as our Savior (Isa.43:3; 45:21; Hos.13:4; Lk.1:47; etc.) and dying for our sins, but suggests rather that He would only create a "perfect sacrifice" (His son) and use that instead.  At the crucifixion, the attribute of Elohim as the Son died for three days, while He maintained authority over all in the Father and Holy Spirit.  It would be the equivalent of you cutting off your arm to save your children from some horrible fate. 

  The Bible records this written witness concerning the Word made flesh as Jesus Christ who was "firstborn from the dead", not first born of Yahweh's creation.  (Colossians 1:1, 15-18, highlights added)

1  Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, .......

15  Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

16  For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or  principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him:

17  And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.

18  And He is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead;

      that in all things He might have the preeminence.    ("before" here is His position of rank)

(Revelation 1:4,5)

4  John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from Him which is,

     and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before His throne;

5  And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead,

    and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood,

(Acts 13:30-33)

30  But God raised Him from the dead:

31  And He was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people.

32  And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers,

33  God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that He hath raised up Jesus again;

      as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.

The title "Christ" ( Heb.& Grk. messiah/anointed) is declared by our Savior King to be also a NAME OF GOD MANIFESTED TO US  and more than only a title!!

(Matthew 16:13-17; notes,emphasis added)

13  When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, He asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?

14  And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.

      (whom = personal  names)

15  He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?  (not "what" but "WHOM")

16  And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

17  And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood

     hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father  which is in heaven.

Christ knew Moses, Moses knew Christ

(John 8:5)

  Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

(John 5:46)

  For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me.

(Moses FEARED GOD AS CHRIST while the preachers don't even know that

Christ, God's manifested Word, was around in the days of Moses!  Hebrews 11:23-27)

23  By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child;  and they were not afraid of the king's commandment.

24  By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter;

25  Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;

26  Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt:

       for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.

27  By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing Him who is invisible.

Yahweh Elohim, God as Christ who spoke to Moses, told Moses that Israel would have a new name, and it would be His (God's) Own Name  which He would put on them in the latter days. (Isa.62:1,2;Num. 6:27)

1  For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof  go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth.

2  And the 'nations' shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory:

    and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of Yahweh shall name. (Isa.62:1,2)

.....   and what is the new name of Israel?

23  Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them,

24  Yahweh bless thee, and keep thee:

25  Yahweh make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:

26  Yahweh lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

27  And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them.

     The Bible unequivocally teaches that "Moses esteemed Christ" as the God with whom he spoke.  This God told Moses that it would be His very own name that would be attached to true Israel when He arrived as the manifested "Christ".  At the arrival of the Messiah, Israel became "Christ's sons" or Christians, in fulfillment of this prophecy and promise of the Almighty!! of which He is also glad to call us brothers (Heb.2:11)   This divine promise is based solely on the deity of Christ the Incarnate Word of Elohim as He spoke with Moses and later arrived as Jesus. This promise given by the God of the Bible that Israel would change names, also means that any nation who internationally today is calling itself "Israel", is proof that it is not Israel.  Therefore, to reject the truth that Jesus Christ is the God of the Bible and to reject that He is an overlapping essence and extension of Elohim Almighty is a denial of the entire Covenant Kingdom message to Saxon Christian Israel and a disbelief of Yahweh's promises .   

     Although Elohim exists both singularly and in the plural capacity at the same time (a concept which taxes the limits of our mind) the most forgotten attribute of Elohim is that of the personal Holy Spirit.  Relegating the Holy Spirit to merely a universal force used by God is a belief straight out of the Talmud, Positive Mind Religions, and other spurious schools of heathen beliefs. However, the Holy Spirit is not an isolated separate person (Holy Ghost) of a Catholic panel of deities either, but rather the Bible tells us that we may know Elohim as becoming the Holy Spirit for our comfort, guidance, motherly nurturing, conviction of sin, healing, consoling, and other loving traits exhibited by a parent raising offspring.  I will briefly cover the femnine aspect of the Holy Spirit in Part III, and follow up later in the year with a more in-depth lesson.  The purpose in this section though, is to point out that the Holy Spirit is not some Pharisaic "En Sof" cosmic power, but is a real person of the Almighty, as Elohim chooses to become that person.  For this reason we will, at this moment, let the gender issue remain as a "he" for the Holy Spirit, as we find written in the English translations. 

     There are verses of Scripture which generalize the Spirit of God to the extent that it is difficult to tell whether or not a personal Spirit is defined.  It has been argued that the Spirit OF  God is not God Himself.  We read verses such as these below to come to that opinion:

 "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.  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."  (Gen.1:1,2)

  "In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of His presence saved them: in His love and in His pity He redeemed them; and He bare them, and carried them all the days of old.

  But they rebelled, and vexed His holy Spirit: therefore He was turned to be their enemy, and He fought against them.

  Then He remembered the days of old, Moses, and His people, saying, Where is He that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of His flock? where is He that put His holy Spirit within him?"  (Isa.63:9,10,11)

   Granted, the Bible does render the Holy Spirit in certain verses as a powerful force, but then again an influential person or even an army of men can also be described as "a powerful force".  Recall our illustration earlier where a "force" within a row boat is indeed a power, but it is still a person who is actually rowing the oars.  A force may or may not be personal depending on what we know about it.  The word "spirit" is RUACH in Hebrew and PNEUMA in Greek (Strong's #'s 7307,4151) and means "wind, breath,vital principal, disposition" in both cases.  Man is not a spirit (invisible) but is a physical creation of Yahweh Elohim using spirit energy (life) to breathe and exist.  What we use from the Holy Spirit can be deemed an impersonal "life force" called, in lower case letters, "the spirit of God". This is given upon the breath and is in the nostrils and lungs. "All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit (ruach) of God is in my nostrils;  (Job 27:3).  Similarly the energy from an oar in a row boat could be measured in "impersonal foot pounds" of power.   However it follows that just as we could measure that impersonal power and say to the person rowing "you just gave 1000 foot pounds of force",  so can we realize that experiencing the power of the "spirit of God" is quite different than knowing the  HOLY SPIRIT WHO IS GOD.   Yahweh Elohim is the only living "Spirit Being" (invisible One) that exists without a body as we know it, because He and He alone is sovereign and everything we see around us is actually inside His mind. (Acts 17:28)   Yet look how man's carnal mind always wants to reverse this fact by saying that  "man is a spirit being" and the Holy Spirit is not a personal being but just a force, thus the old communist lie "man is above God".

THE HOLY SPIRIT IS PERSONAL:

    There appears to have been an attempt on the part of dogmatic churches to make questionable both the gender and personality of the Holy Spirit as is seen in the conflicting references to pronouns of "he","she","it",and "which" or "who", regarding this personality of Elohim Holy Spirit.  Regretfully, this can be attributed to "doctrinal in-fighting" among denominational theology.   Regardless of the arguments surrounding pronouns assigned to the Holy Spirit in Bible lexicons,  there is still an abundance of Bible verses in harmony with each other which show the personal works of the Holy Spirit among the body of believers. 

Elohim as The Holy Spirit speaks to believers:

 "Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.

  As they ministered to Yahweh, and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them."   (Acts 13:1,2)

 So, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you hear his voice,  do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert,  where your fathers tested and tried me and for forty years saw what I did."   (Hebrews 3:7-9)

 "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God." ( Revelation 2:7)

Paul said lying to The Holy Spirit is lying to God:

     " But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,

  And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part,

 and laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, Ananias,

   why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Spirit,

 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.

  And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things."    (Acts 5:1-5)

The Holy Spirit has knowledge. ( does a mere force or influence have knowledge?)

 The Holy Spirit has a mind and The Holy Spirit makes determinations.

The Holy Spirit has love and The Holy Spirit can grieve.  (a "force" can do neither)

 "I urge you, brothers, by our Master Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me" (Romans 15:30)

 "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." (Ephesians 4:30)

The Holy Spirit has groans of emotion and intelligently intercedes for us.

"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express."  (Romans 8:26)

 "Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." (Galatians 4:6)

The Holy Spirit teaches and is blessed.

 "But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father  will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you."  John 14:26

 Note Psalms 118:26  "Blessed is he who comes in the name of Yahweh." 

The Holy Spirit answers the cause of Elohim by giving personal testimony.

 "When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me".   (John 15:26)

The Holy Spirit is a guide who can hear and speak.  (debate on pronouns not relevant with this fact)

 "But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.  He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you." (John 16:13-14)

And most importantly for us: The Holy Spirit fellowships with believers, praise Yah!

 "May the grace of the Master Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion* [fellowship ] of the Holy Spirit be with you all."   (2 Corinthians 13:14)   

 *Strong's Greek Dictionary #2842 -- "koy-nohn-ee'-ah" is the word for personal intimate fellowship between people!!  Those who have been conned into believing that The Holy Spirit is only a force or influence, and is not Yahweh Elohim as a personal interceder in our lives, have both grieved and blasphemed against The Almighty.  Prayerfully the above Scriptures will give cause for reflection of beliefs, as many heathen doctrines tempting men to achieve goals by "controlling God's so called impersonal spirit force" permeate our land today on the New Age book shelves.  The Bible tells us that The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sins.  We do not "use the holy spirit", rather The Holy Spirit uses us.  Blessed be Yahweh Elohim forever!  Finally, the Bible student must realize that simply because certain verses do separate the personalities of the Father, Jesus Christ, and The Holy Spirit, we can not be hasty in assuming that any one of them are not part of Elohim.  An equal amount of verses tell us that these three are shared divinity.  It is only the works or attributes of each that are different. Elohim as Authority was, is, and becomes the Father.  Elohim as Salvation was, is, and becomes the Son.  Elohim as Nurturing was, is, and becomes The Holy Spirit.  Elohim is simultaneously triune and singular.                         Continued Next Article >>>