PTM WEEKLY UPDATE -- MARCH 10, 2008
Two or three divine Persons?
Q. I have a question re the Holy Spirit. I sincerely want to understand the doctrine of the Trinity, but one Scripture gets in the way. 2 Corinthians 3:17 says "The Lord is the Spirit." If this refers to Jesus as being the Spirit, it seems to imply that there is the Father and Jesus/Holy Spirit, making only two persons. I hope you can help me to understand this apparent contradiction.
A. Some misunderstand this verse, and interpret it to mean that Jesus is the Lord spoken of, and that he is one and the same as God the Holy Spirit. However, given the immediate context of this passage, as well as the written revelation of all Scripture, it is far more likely that this verse means that the Holy Spirit is Lord, as the third divine Person of the Godhead, God the Holy Spirit.
Earlier in this passage Paul makes mention of Jesus and the Holy Spirit as distinct personalities. Jesus told us in John 14:16 that the Holy Spirit is "another" Comforter. The work of the Holy Spirit, as distinct from Father and Son, is well documented and taught in Scripture. It is clear, from Scripture, that Jesus, the second divine Person of the Godhead, the Eternal Son of God, is not one and the same as God the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit descended on Jesus when he was baptized (Luke 3:22) -- the Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus (John 16: 13-14).
There is some discussion about the indwelling of the Spirit, as taught in the New Testament. There are times when we read that Jesus lives his risen life in us -- other passages seem to favor the role of the Holy Spirit living his life in us. To generalize, without going into a lengthy answer, attempting to make this a dichotomy is an example of a straw man. It is not either Jesus or the Holy Spirit living in us -- it is both/and. Exactly how they work in and through us is not so specifically delineated for us to write an instruction manual. How we experience God and his kingdom now, in our flesh, is an experience that transcends the time/space dimension in which we live. Therefore, there will always be some "unknowns" about how God indwells us -- until the other side of eternity, when our bodies are made incorruptible and we dwell with God, forever.
Some teach and believe an biblically erroneous concept of the nature of God called modalism. Modalism posits that while God has revealed himself in three modes -- Father, Son and Holy Spirit -- God cannot be all three at the same time. One version of modalism is today called Oneness Pentecostalism.
The Bible is clear -- the Godhead is one in essence, eternally existing as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
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