Topical Studies
Begettal of the Holy Spirit
(From Forerunner Commentary)
|
Genesis 3:22-24 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
Adam and Eve could have eventually gained eternal life and become spirit by eating of the fruit of the Tree of Life. This plainly shows that Adam and Eve did not have immortality inherent in themselves! The Tree of Life symbolized the Holy Spirit—the way to eternal life. Adam was created incomplete. He was created to need the Holy Spirit of God in order to live forever. Had Adam and Eve eaten of the fruit of that tree, rather than of the forbidden tree, they would have received God's Spirit as a begettal. The Holy Spirit would have helped perfect the very character of God in them, and finally changed their mortal bodies into spirit-born sons of God! Adam, however, had to choose whether or not he would accept the free gift of the Holy Spirit. He chose (I Timothy 2:14, first part), by disobeying God, not to receive the Holy Spirit and was consequently cut off from access to the Tree of Life! Here is yet another proof that no man has eternal life inherent within himself.
Just What Is Man?
|
|
John 3:5-8 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
In connection with John 4:24, this verse implies that, since God is Spirit, if one is going to be born of the Spirit, he will be composed of exactly the same substance as God. To make it even clearer, Jesus gives an illustration in verse 8 so that no one would misunderstand His intention. Wind is invisible. When something gets moved by the wind, a person can see that object moving. He does not see the wind moving but the object. The wind, composed of air, is invisible to his eyes. This illustrates one who is born of the Spirit. Spirit is invisible but no less real than air. Nobody would argue that air, of which wind is composed, has no substance, for though it is invisible, it is made up of particles too small to be seen by the unaided eye.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Image and Likeness of God (Part 4)
|
|
John 3:6-8 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
When "spirit" is used in this sense, "air" is the closest physical thing Jesus could use to illustrate His instruction. Air is material, but it is invisible to our eyes, and its invisibility is what He wants us to focus on. Spirit is invisible—but immaterial—and in this specific sense, it has no form or substance. It is non-physical, but it can affect the around and the about, the environment, including a person begotten by means of it.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Holy Spirit and the Trinity (Part 1)
|
|
Romans 8:14 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
The unborn child in his mother's womb is the child of his father and mother, though not yet born—delivered from the womb. So are we, if God's Spirit dwells in us—if we are being led by God's Spirit—children of God. Yet, at this time, we are in the gestation state, not yet parturition. And only heirs, not inheritors!
Herbert W. Armstrong (1892-1986)
Life After Death?
|
|
1 Corinthians 15:42-49 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
The image Paul speaks of is not merely that we will be composed of spirit even as Christ is, but that our very nature and character be like His. If God desired that we merely be spirit, He could have made us like angels. Angels, however, are not God; they are angels. God is doing a work in us through which we will become like Him, not like angels. His purpose requires that we cooperate. Though our part is very small by comparison to what He is doing, it is nonetheless vital. Notice how Paul draws this beautiful section of I Corinthians to a conclusion by drawing our attention to what it will take on our part to make God's purpose work: "But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord" (I Corinthians 15:57-58).
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Elements of Motivation (Part Three): Hope
|
|
1 Corinthians 15:47 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
This is what Jesus was saying to Nicodemus. He was of the earth, earthy—human. He was flesh, not spirit. He was born of the flesh, so that is what he was—flesh. When one is born of the Spirit, he will be spirit. Paul is here explaining the same truth. But we cannot be spirit in this present age.
Herbert W. Armstrong (1892-1986)
Life After Death?
|
|
2 Corinthians 4:17 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
One source, God, produces the commonality that makes us a spiritual Family. He engineered and created it. He is the personality who guides, directs, and accomplishes this unity through His Holy Spirit. All of His teaching, His truth, is being funneled from the Father through the Son, Jesus Christ, and out to the church by means of the Holy Spirit. We hold a critical position in all of this because we have the power to accept or reject His truth, and the acceptance or rejection of the truth of God determines if we will have greater and better fellowship. We will either become a more unified part of His Family or less. Our choice is the critical factor. God is faithful. He has done what He has done. He has initiated the contact, making the bridging of the gap possible through Jesus Christ. He has given us the mechanism by which a relationship can be accomplished, and now the critical part is in our hands: yielding to the truth that He gives to us. If we yield, then God's creative efforts in us are not going to be frustrated.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Truth (Part 4)
|
|
Galatians 3:26 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
This statement would have been a bombshell—and high heresy—to the average Jew of Paul's time, who would have had it in his mind that the people of Israel were the only children of God. Paul here is beginning to explain that physical lineage is not relevant where God's calling is concerned, because under the New Covenant only God can give the summons (John 6:44), and if He summons a Gentile, it is just as valid as if He gave it to an Israelite. The faith of Jesus Christ is the important factor rather than heredity. This faith is also a part of what God gives (Ephesians 2:8)—again, only to those whom He chooses. But if God has given this living faith (James 2:20) to a man, that man is then a begotten—but not yet born—child of God. God is the real father, rather than Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob.
David C. Grabbe
|
|
Ephesians 1:3-4 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
He did not necessarily choose us as individuals before the foundation of the world, but He did decide that He would have a church, a group of people impregnated by His Spirit, a unique Family of His who would be in the image of His Son. The word "choose" suggests taking a smaller number out of a larger. In this case, the larger is the population of the earth, and the smaller number is that tiny remnant God has been working with—His church, His group, His family. The word "holy" implies the choosing had a moral aim in view. In other words, God was choosing a small number out of a large number, and the reason He was choosing this smaller number is to make this small number holy—holy as He is. He had a moral purpose in mind. The apostle is saying we have been called, elected, become a part of this small group with a definite purpose in mind—that we should become holy. In order for us to become holy, God had to reveal some things to us, which Paul discusses in verses 5-12.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Awesome Cost of Salvation
|
|
Titus 3:5 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
Regeneration is symbolized by baptism and the laying on of hands. It involves such things as internal cleansing, rising in newness of life from a watery grave, becoming a new creation, and begettal through the receiving of God's Holy Spirit. The world calls this step being "born again," but the Bible calls it regeneration. When we have a confrontation with God at the beginning of His salvation process, we are dead to sin. We need to be regenerated—given life once again.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Covenants, Grace and Law (Part 8)
|
|
1 Peter 1:16-17 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
The spiritual reproductive process is not solely God's work in us, but we also play a major role in what is happening. The work of God in this world is the implantation of His Spirit in us which gives to us the barest elements of the Divine nature, and then He works on the growth and perfection of holiness in His people. We are part of a work of transformation, of conversion, to holiness. It is here that prayer fits into the picture because Peter writes in verse 17, "and if you call on the Father." That is prayer. Prayer is an integral part of the obtaining, the achieving, the process of transformation—from the glory of man to the glory of God. Prayer fits right into the scheme of things.
John W. Ritenbaugh
What Is Prayer?
|
|
1 John 3:3 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
Our hope is to be like Christ and to see Him as He is. Our hope is to enter the Kingdom of God. What does having such hope do? It motivates a person to purify himself. He does this by living life as Christ lived it. The whole issue of sanctification revolves around the receiving of God's Holy Spirit and then the study, belief, and putting into practice of God's Word. If we do those things, Christ is in us, and we then cannot help but to produce fruit, just as He did. Just as surely as life is generated and growth begins when a sperm hits an egg, so if a person receives God's Holy Spirit, and it joins with our spirit, converting us, then sanctification—spiritual growth toward perfection—begins. It cannot be stopped unless we choose to stop it. Paul says, "Do not quench the Spirit" (I Thessalonians 5:19). We have the power to do that, but if we will just yield to it, fruit will be produced. How much and of what quality is up to the individual, but it will be growth taking place. The process will begin.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Covenants, Grace and Law (Part 8)
|
|
1 John 3:9 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
Sometime in the past, one may have heard that "cannot sin" applies to Christians when born into the Family of God as spirit beings. This is probably not correct because the whole context of the passage involves the here and now—today, during our physical lives. John is describing a situation in which we have opportunities to sin or not. "Cannot sin" does not mean that it is impossible for us to sin, but rather, it is an act that we will not permit ourselves to do. Many of us have likely said to a child, "You can't do that!" Yes, they could do it, but we have determined that it is totally unadvisable. This is the gist of John's meaning: A person who is begotten of God is unable to sin habitually. Why? Because of the divine nature being within him! This does not mean that he will not slip or that he will not even sin willingly and willfully from time to time, knowing full well what he is getting into. There is still weakness in human flesh. However, the converted person will repent and fight the weakness tooth and toenail. He will not live in sin! God will not abide in sin, and if His Spirit is within us, and we choose to continue in sin, then He will withdraw His Spirit.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Covenants, Grace and Law (Part 8)
|
XML RSS
feeds available
|
 |
The Berean: Daily Verse and Comment
Sign up for the Berean: Daily Verse and Comment, and have Biblical truth delivered to your inbox. This daily newsletter provides a starting point for personal study, and gives valuable insight into the verses that make up the Word of God. See what over 50,000 subscribers are already receiving each day.
Email Address:
|
We respect your privacy. Your email address will not be sold, distributed, rented, or in any way given out to a third party. We have nothing to sell. You may easily unsubscribe at any time. |
|
|
Printer-Friendly
E-mail this page
