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Holy
Spirit
The
Holy Spirit, is a religious term used in the Christian and
Jewish traditions referring to the presence or power of
God as experienced by a human being. The term is found in
the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) as the Hebrew words Ruach
HaKodesh.
Various
interpretations of the term are held by various religious
sects. In most sects of Christianity the Holy Spirit is
considered to be God himself, a part of the divine Trinity.
The Holy Spirit is first described in Christianity as 'descending'
on Jesus 'like a dove' during his baptism by John the Baptist
in the Jordan river. For some Christians, the Holy Spirit
is related to God's will, but is not God's will personified.
Other sects deriving from the Christian and Jewish traditions,
such as Rastafarianism, have still different views of the
Holy Spirit.
Jewish
views of the Holy Spirit
The midrash literature contains many statements about the
Holy Spirit. It is written that the Holy Spirit, being of
heavenly origin, is composed, like everything that comes
from heaven, of light and fire. When it rested upon Phinehas
his face burned like a torch (Midrash Lev. Rabbah 21). When
the Temple was destroyed and the people Israel went into
exile, the Holy Spirit returned to heaven; this is indicated
in Eccl. 12:7: "the spirit shall return unto God"
(Midrash Eccl. Rabbah 12:7). The spirit talks sometimes
with a masculine and sometimes with a feminine voice (Eccl.
7:29); i.e., as the word "ruah" is both masculine
and feminine, the Holy Spirit was conceived as being sometimes
like a man and sometimes like a woman.
According
to Jewish tradition, the Holy Spirit dells only among a
worthy generation, and the frequency of its manifestations
is proportionate to the worthiness. There was no manifestation
of it in the time of the Second Temple (Talmud, Yoma 21b),
while there were many during the time of Elijah (Tosefta
to the Talmud Sotah, 12:5). According to Job 28:25, the
Holy Spirit rested upon the Prophets in varying degrees,
some prophesying to the extent of one book only, and others
filling two books (Midrash Lev. Rabbah 15:2). Nor did it
rest upon them continually, but only for a time.
The
stages d of development, the highest of which is the Holy
Spirit, are as follows: zeal, integrity, purity, holiness,
humility, fear of sin, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit
conducts Elijah, who brings the dead to life (Yer. Shab.
3c, above, and parallel passage). The pious act through
the Holy Spirit (Midrash Tanhuma, Vayeki, 14); whoever teaches
the Torah in public partakes of the Holy Spirit (Midrash
Canticles Rabbah 1:9, end; comp. Midrash Lev. Rabbah 35:7).
When Phinehas sinned, the Holy Spirit departed from him
(Midrash Lev. Rabbah 37:4)
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Jewish
tradition divides the books of the Hebrew Bible into three
categories, based on the level of prophecy that their authors
are said to have reached.
The
visible results of the activity of the Holy Spirit, according
to the Jewish conception, are the books of the Bible, all
of which have been composed under its inspiration. All the
Prophets spoke "in the Holy Spirit"; and the most
characteristic sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit is
the gift of prophecy, in the sense that the person upon
whom it rests beholds the past and the future. According
to the Talmud, with the death of the last three prophets,
Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, the Holy Spirit ceased to
manifest itself in Israel; but the Bat Kol (heavenly voice)
was still available.
The
Torah (five books of Moses) is said to be written by Moses
from a direct verbal revelation of God.
The Nevi'im (prophets) are books written by people who received
a high level of prophecy.
The Ketuvim (writings, hagiopgrapha) are written by authors
with a lesser level of prophecy known as divine inspiration,
Ruach HaKodesh.
According to one view in the Talmud, the Holy Spirit was
among the ten things that were created by God on the first
day (Talmud Bavli, Hag. 12a, b). Though the nature of the
Holy Spirit is really nowhere described, the name indicates
that it was conceived as a kind of wind that became manifest
through noise and light.
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Of special
interest is a distinction made by ancient Jewish authorities
between the "Spirit of the Lord" (which is the
most common way of referring to the Holy Spirit in the Tanakh)
and the Shekinah, the presence of God. This distinction
is made in the Talmud, which gives a list of things found
in the first Temple, but missing in the second Temple. This
list included the Holy Spirit and the Shekinah. The difference
is not clearly understood, but it seems that the Shekinah
glory was somehow more tangible than the Spirit. This may
have referred to God's actual dwelling within the Holy of
Holies, and God's presence emanating outward from it in
a special way, as opposed to the presence of the Holy Spirit,
which was in many locations throughout the world, and especially
in individuals. In the Tanakh, however, this indwelling
of the Spirit is reserved for kings, prophets, high priests,
etc. and is not given to the common believer).
Classical
Jewish texts teach that no new prophets were created after
the destruction of the First Temple in Jerusalem in 586
BC. However, various rabbinic Jewish works, including the
midrash, state that other less direct forms of communication
between man and God still exist, and have never ended. The
Talmud affirms that minor forms of prophecy still occur.
One example of this is the 'bat kol'. (e.g. Tosefta Sota
13:3, Yerushalmi Sota 24b, and Bavli Sota 48b). The Talmud
notes that each time a Jew studies the Torah or its rabbinic
commentaries, God is revealed anew; there is still a link
between God and the Jewish people. (Abraham Joshua Heschel's
Prophetic Inspiration After the Prophets: Maimonides and
Others)
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In the Apocrypha
The Holy Spirit is less frequently referred to in the Apocrypha
and by the Hellenistic Jewish writers; this may mean that
the conception of the Holy Spirit was not prominent among
the Jewish people at this time, especially in the Diaspora.
In I
Maccabees 4:45, 14:41 prophecy is referred to as something
long since passed. Wisdom 9:17 refers to the Holy Spirit
which God sends down from heaven, whereby God's behests
are recognized. The discipline of the Holy Spirit preserves
from deceit (ib. i. 5). It is said in the Psalms of Solomon,
17:42, in reference to the Messiah, the son of David: "he
is mighty in the Holy Spirit"; and in Susanna, 45,
that "God raised up the Holy Spirit of a youth, whose
name was Daniel."
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Christian views of the Holy Spirit
In mainstream Christianity, the Holy Spirit is one person
of the Trinity, co-equal with the Father and the Son (Jesus),
a part of the Godhead. In Unitarian churches, Jehovah's
Witnesses and some other churches that do not accept the
doctrine of the Trinity, the holy spirit is God's spirit
or God's active force, and not a separate person. In The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints the Holy Spirit
is considered a third and individual member of the Godhead,
distinct from the Father and the Son, having a body of spirit
(whereas the Father and the Son are believed to be resurrected
individuals having immortalized bodies of flesh and bone).
Christians
believe it is the Holy Spirit who leads people to faith
in Jesus and the one who gives them the ability to lead
a Christian life. The Spirit dwells inside every true Christian.
He is depicted as a 'Counsellor' or 'Helper' (paraclete
in Greek), guiding them in the way of the truth. The 'Fruit
of the Spirit' (i.e. the result of His work) is "love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control" (Galatians 5:22). The
Spirit is also believed to give gifts (i.e. abilities) to
Christians. These include the charismatic gifts such as
prophecy, tongues, healing, and knowledge, which some Christians,
whose view is known as cessationism, believe were given
only in New Testament times. Christians agree almost universally
that certain more mundane "spiritual gifts" are
still in effect today. These include the gifts of ministry,
teaching, giving, leadership, and mercy (see, e.g. Romans
12:6-8).
Most
Trinitarian Christians believe that it was the Holy Spirit
whom Jesus mentioned as the promised "Comforter"
in John 14:26. After his resurrection, Christ also told
his disciples that they would be "baptized with the
Holy Ghost", and would receive power from this event
(Acts 1:4-8). These Christians also believe that Christ's
promise of the Holy Spirit was fulfilled in the events of
the second chapter of Acts. On the first Pentecost, originally
the Jewish festival of Shavuot, Jesus' disciples were gathered
in Jerusalem when a mighty wind was heard and tongues of
fire appeared over their heads. A multilingual crowd heard
the disciples speaking, and each of them heard them speaking
in his or her native language. These events were also referred
to a prophecy of the prophet Joel, who foretold that God
would "pour out his spirit upon all flesh." The
Christian movement called Pentecostalism derives its name
from these events.
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The
Pentecostal movement places special emphasis on the work
of the Holy Spirit, and especially on the gifts mentioned
above, believing that they are still given today. Many Pentecostals
believe in a 'Baptism of the Holy Spirit', in which the
Spirit's power is received by the Christian in a new way.
Some Pentecostal sects hold that the baptism of the Holy
Spirit is the one sure sign of Christianity in a person,
or conversely, that until a person has experienced this
baptism of the Holy Spirit, they cannot be certain of their
salvation.
The
Holy Spirit is often depicted as a dove, based on the story
of the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus in the form of a
dove when He was baptized in the Jordan. The book of Acts
describes the Holy Spirit descending on the apostles at
Pentecost in the form of a wind and tongues of fire resting
over the apostles' heads. Based on the imagery in that account,
the Holy Spirit is sometimes symbolized by a flame of fire.
In John's
Gospel of the New Testament, the emphasis is placed not
upon what the Holy Spirit did for Jesus, but upon Jesus
giving the Spirit to His disciples. This "Higher"
Christology, which was the most influential in the later
development of Trinity doctrine, sees Jesus as a sacrificial
lamb, and as coming among men in order to grant the Spirit
of God to humanity.
Although
the language used to describe Jesus' receiving of the Spirit
in John's Gospel is a parallel to accounts in other Gospels,
nevertheless, John reports this with the aim in view of
showing that Jesus is specially in possession of the Spirit
for the purpose of granting the Spirit to His followers,
uniting them with Himself, and in Himself also uniting them
with the Father. (See Raymond Brown, "The Gospel According
to John", chapter on Pneumatology). In John, the gift
of the Spirit is equivalent to eternal life, knowledge of
God, power to obey, and communion with one another and with
the Father.
The
Holy Spirit is sometimes referred to as the Holy Ghost (the
name used in the King James Version of the Bible), particularly
by conservative Pentecostal groups and The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints. The usage was also common before
1901.
According
to dispensationalism, we are now living in the Age of the
Spirit. The Old Testament period, under this view, may be
called the Age of the Father; the period covered by the
Gospels, the Age of the Son; from Pentecost until the second
advent of Christ, the Age of the Spirit.
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"Holy Spirit" or "Holy Ghost"
Holy Ghost was the common name for the Holy Spirit in English
prior to the 20th century. It is the name used in the King
James Version of the Bible, and is still the preferred name
among conservative Pentecostal groups and The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
In 1901
the American Standard Version of the Bible translated the
name as Holy Spirit, as had the English Revised Version
of 1881-1885 upon which it was based. Almost all modern
English translations have followed suit as the word ghost
has lost its old meaning of the spirit or soul that is inside
man and come to be identified almost exclusively with the
concept of disembodied spirits, usually of the dead, which
may "haunt" the living, an idea far from that
intended by the King James translators.
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The Gender of the Holy Spirit
The Biblical Hebrew word for spirit is ruwach (also transliterated
as ruach), meaning wind, breath, inspiration; the noun is
grammatically feminine. In the "Odes of Solomon'; the
oldest surviving Christian hymnal, the Holy Spirit is grammatically
female. The Greek word for spirit, 'pneuma', is of the neuter
gender. The Holy Spirit is translated in masculine terms
only in languages such as Latin and English. The term "Holy
Ghost" is widely used by American Christians, whereas
"Holy Spirit" is the common European term.
See
the article God and gender for a discussion of how to translate
the names of God into English, male and female aspects of
the Holy Spirit, and related issues.
Rastafarian view of the Holy Spirit
As a group that evolved out of Christianity the Rastafarians
have evolved their own unique interpretation of both the
Holy Trinity and the Holy Spirit. They believe it is Haile
Selassie who embodies both God the Father and God the son,
while the Holy Spirit is to be found within Rasta believers,
and within every human being. Rastas also believe that the
true church is the human body, and that it is this church
which contains the Holy Spirit.
From
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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