Scriptural Names of
The Holy SpiritBy
Jack Kettler
For
Christians, one of the three persons of the
Godhead, along with the Father and the Son, is
the Holy Spirit. In older translations like
the King James Version, the Holy Spirit is
also called the Holy Ghost. When consulting a
Greek lexicon, you will see that both
renderings can be used interchangeably. Doing
simple internet search on synonyms you will
commonly find that the Holy Ghost is a proper
noun along with the following synonyms: God
the Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, Comforter.
Additionally,
the Holy Spirit is not an impersonal power or
a force, but a person and God indeed. The
following list of names is abbreviated. Some
scholars cite and allude to over 100 names of
the Holy Spirit and attributes the Spirit’s
divine character and actions.
In this
study I use simple format. I cite a name of
the Holy Spirit followed by the Scriptural
reference which is listed in full for the
reader’s convenience. Then I cite a commentary
exposition to challenge the reader to dig a
little deeper. At the end, will be a
confessional statement from the Westminster
Confession of Faith Chapter 2 - Of God, and of
the Holy Trinity along with Scriptural proofs.
“The Spirit
of God hath made me, and the breath of the
Almighty hath given me life.” (Job 33:4)
Exposition; from the
Pulpit
Commentary we read:
“The Spirit
of God hath made me. This is assigned as the
main reason why Job should give his best
attention to Elihu's words. Elihu claims to be
quickened and informed by the Divine Spirit
which was once breathed into man (Genesis
2:7), whereby man became a living soul (comp.
Job 32:8). And the breath of the Almighty hath
given me life; or, quiekened me - originated
and preserved my life. Elihu does not,
however, claim that his words are actually
inspired, or that he has a message to Job from
the Almighty.” (1)
Comforter
Scriptural Source:
“And I will
pray the Father, and he shall give you another
Comforter, that he may abide with you forever…
But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost,
whom the Father will send in my name, he shall
teach you all things, and bring all things to
your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto
you.” (John 14:16, 26)
Exposition; from
Matthew Poole's Commentary on versus 26 we
read:
“The word
is the same which was so translated before;
(see the import of it, John 14:16,17) he is
there called the Comforter, and the Spirit of
truth; here, the Holy Spirit. The Father here
is said to send in the name, that is, with the
authority and upon the mediation, of the Lord
Jesus Christ: and two pieces of the Spirit’s
work, besides comforting, are here expressed.
He shall
teach you all things; he shall more fully
explain to you all things. Three of the
apostles themselves had already in this
chapter discovered great degrees of ignorance
as to the doctrine of the Trinity, Christ’s
union or oneness with his Father, &c. You
shall not be left (saith our Saviour) in this
ignorance; for when the Holy Spirit shall
come, he shall more fully and perfectly
instruct you in all things, in which I have
already instructed you, and which are
necessary for you to know in order to your
eternal happiness.
And bring
all things to your remembrance; whatsoever I
have said unto you; and shall bring to your
remembrance the things I have taught you, so
as you shall more fully and clearly understand
them; and though you may have forgotten them,
yet they shall by the Holy Spirit be revived
in your memories; so as they shall not be like
water spilt on the ground, which cannot again
be gathered up, but like seed sown in the
earth; which, though it may at present rot,
and die under the clods, or at least not
spring up, yet it shall spring up, and bring
forth desired fruit. It is one great work of
the Holy Spirit, to bring the revelations of
holy writ to our remembrance, and withal to
clear to us the sense of them, and confirm our
faith in them, and chiefly quicken us to
practise what is our duty: but it is to be
observed, that the Spirit doth not make
revelations of new notions; it only brings to
our remembrance what Christ hath said, and
further revealeth what was before in the word
revealed, though possibly particular persons
were ignorant of such revelations of the word:
so things may be new, and newly revealed to
us, which in themselves are not so. There are
no new truths, but particular persons may have
new discoveries of old truth, which they had
before misapprehensions of.” (2)
Spirit of the Lord,
Rest, Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Might,
Knowledge, Fear
Scriptural Source:
“And the
spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the
spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit
of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge
and of the fear of the LORD.” (Isaiah 11:2)
Exposition; from the
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
Bible Commentary we learn:
“Spirit of
the Lord—Jehovah. The Spirit by which the
prophets spake: for Messiah was to be a
Prophet (Isa 61:1; De 18:15, 18). Seven gifts
of the Holy Spirit are specified, to imply
that the perfection of them was to be in Him.
Compare "the seven Spirits" (Re 1:4), that is,
the Holy Ghost in His perfect fulness: seven
being the sacred number. The prophets had only
a portion out of the "fulness" in the Son of
God (Joh 1:16; 3:34; Col 1:19).
rest—permanently;
not merely come upon Him (Nu 11:25, 26).
wisdom—
(1Co 1:30; Eph 1:17; Col 2:3).
understanding—coupled
with "wisdom," being its fruit. Discernment
and discrimination (Mt 22:18; Joh 2:25).
counsel …
might—the faculty of forming counsels, and
that of executing them (Isa 28:29). Counsellor
(Isa 9:6).
knowledge—of
the deep things of God (Mt 11:27). The
knowledge of Him gives us true knowledge (Eph
1:17).
fear of the
Lord—reverential, obedient fear. The first
step towards true "knowledge" (Job 28:28; Ps
111:10).” (3)
Eternal Spirit
Scriptural Source:
“How much
more shall the blood of Christ, who through
the eternal Spirit offered himself without
spot to God, purge your conscience from dead
works to serve the living God?” (Hebrews 9:14)
Exposition; from Gill's
Exposition of the Entire Bible we
learn:
“How much
more shall the blood of Christ, which is not
the blood of a mere man, but the blood of the
Son of God; and the argument is from the
lesser to the greater; that if the ashes of
the burnt heifer, which was a type of Christ
in his sufferings, mixed with water, typically
sanctified to the purifying of men externally,
in a ceremonial way, then much more virtue
must there be in the blood of Christ, to
cleanse the soul inwardly:
who through
the eternal Spirit offered himself without
spot to God; Christ is a priest, and the
sacrifice he has offend up is "himself"; not
his divine nature, but his human nature, soul
and body, as in union with his divine person;
which gives his sacrifice the preference to
all others; and is the reason of its virtue
and efficacy, and is expressive of his great
love to man: and this sacrifice was offered up
"to God", against whom his people had sinned,
and whose justice must be satisfied, and which
is of a sweet smelling savour to him; besides,
he called him to this work, and engaged him in
it, and is well pleased with this offering, as
he must needs be, since it is offered up
"without spot"; which expresses the purity of
Christ's nature and sacrifice, and the
perfection of it, which is such, that no fault
can be found in it by the justice of God; and
hence, the saints, for whom it is offered, are
unblamable and irreprovable, There is an
allusion in the clause, both to the priests
and to their sacrifices, which were neither of
them to have any spot or blemish on them; and
this unblemished sacrifice was offered unto
God by Christ, through the eternal Spirit; not
the human soul of Christ; for though that is a
spirit, yet not eternal, and besides, was a
part of the sacrifice; but rather the divine
nature of Christ, which is a spirit, and may
be so called in distinction from the flesh, or
human nature, as it sometimes is, and this is
eternal; it was from everlasting, as well as
is to everlasting; and this supported him
under all his sufferings, and carried him
through them, and put virtue unto them; and
Christ was a priest, in the divine, as well as
human nature: though by it may be better
understood "the Holy Ghost"; and so the
Vulgate Latin version reads, and also several
copies; since the divine nature rather acts by
the human nature, than the human nature by the
divine; and Christ is often said to do such
and such things by the Holy Spirit; and as the
Holy Ghost formed and filled the human nature
of Christ, so he assisted and supported it
under sufferings. This whole clause is
inserted by way of parenthesis, showing the
efficacy of Christ's blood, and from whence it
is:
to purge
your conscience from dead works; that is,
"from the works of sin", as the Ethiopic
version renders it; which are performed by
dead men, separate and alienated from the life
of God, are the cause of the death of the
soul, and expose to eternal death, and are
like dead carcasses, nauseous and infectious;
and even duties themselves, performed without
faith and love, are dead works; nor can they
procure life, and being depended on, issue in
death; and even the works of believers
themselves are sometimes performed in a very
lifeless manner, and are attended with sin and
pollution, and need purging: the allusion is
to the pollution by the touch of dead bodies;
and there may be some respect to the
sacrifices of slain beasts, after the
sacrifice and death of Christ, by believing
Jews, who were sticklers for the ceremonies of
the law, and thereby contracted guilt; but
immoralities are chiefly designed, and with
these the conscience of man is defiled; and
nothing short of the blood of Christ can
remove the pollution of sin; as that being
shed procures atonement, and so purges away
the guilt of sin, or makes reconciliation for
it, so being sprinkled on the conscience by
the Spirit of God, it speaks peace and pardon,
and pacifies and purges it, and removes every
incumbrance from it: the Alexandrian copy, the
Vulgate Latin, and Syriac versions, read, "our
conscience". The end and use of such purgation
is, "to serve the living God"; so called to
distinguish him from the idols of the
Gentiles, and in opposition to dead works; and
because he has life in himself, essentially
and independently, and is the author and giver
of life to others; and it is but the
reasonable service of his people, to present
their souls and bodies as a living sacrifice
to him; and who ought to serve him in a lively
manner, in faith, and with fervency, and not
with a slavish, but a godly filial fear; and
one that has his conscience purged by the
blood of Christ, and is sensibly impressed
with a discovery of pardoning grace, is in the
best capacity for such service. The
Alexandrian copy reads, "the living and true
God.” (4)
“But Peter
said, ‘Ananias, why has Satan filled your
heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep
back for yourself part of the proceeds of the
land? While it remained unsold, did it not
remain your own? And after it was sold, was it
not at your disposal? Why is it that you have
contrived this deed in your heart? You have
not lied to man but to God.’” (Acts 5:3, 4)
Exposition; from
Barnes' Notes on the Bible we learn:
“But unto
God - It has been "particularly" and
"eminently" against God. This is true,
because:
(1) He had
professedly "devoted" it to God. The act,
therefore, had express and direct reference to
him.
(2) it was
an attempt to deceive him. It implied the
belief of Ananias that God would not detect
the crime, or see the motives of the heart.
(3) it is
the prerogative of God to judge of sincerity
and hypocrisy; and this was a case, therefore,
which came under his special notice. Compare
Psalm 139:1-4. The word "God" here is
evidently used in its plain and obvious sense
as denoting the "supreme divinity," and the
use of the word here shows that the Holy
Spirit is "divine." The whole passage
demonstrates, therefore, one of the important
doctrines of the Christian religion, that the
Holy Spirit is distinct from the Father and
the Son, and yet is divine.” (5)
Holy Spirit
Scriptural Sources:
“In whom ye
also trusted, after that ye heard the word of
truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom
also after that ye believed, ye were sealed
with that holy Spirit of promise.” (Ephesians
1:13)
Exposition; fromEllicott's
Commentary for English Readers we learn:
“Ye were
sealed with that holy Spirit of promise.—This
word “sealed” is found in exactly the same
connection in 2Corinthians 1:22. The original
idea of this sealing (which, it should be
observed, is not of documents, but of men) is
best seen in the “sealing of the servants of
God in their foreheads,” in Revelation 7:3-8.
In that passage, and in the passage of Ezekiel
which it recalls (Ezekiel 9:4), the sealing is
simply an outward badge, to be at once a
pledge and means of safety amidst the
destruction coming on the earth. In like
sense, circumcision appears to be called “a
seal” of previously existing righteousness of
faith, in Romans 4:11; and the conversion of
the Corinthians “a seal” of St. Paul’s
apostleship, in 1Corinthians 9:2. (Comp. also
John 3:33; Romans 15:28; 2Timothy 2:19.) But
the word is used in a deeper sense whenever it
is connected with the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Then it corresponds to the “circumcision not
made with hands” (Romans 2:29; Colossians
2:11); it has the character of a sacrament,
and is not a mere badge, but a true means of
grace. In this connection we read first of our
Lord, “Him God the Father sealed” (John 6:27),
with a clear reference to the outpouring of
the Holy Spirit at His baptism (comp. John
1:33; John 5:37; John 10:33); next of His
people (as here, in Ephesians 4:30, and in
2Corinthians 1:22) as being, like Himself,
baptised with the Holy Ghost. In this passage
the very title given to the Spirit is
significant. He is called (in the curious
order of the original) “the Spirit of the
Promise, the Holy One.” “The promise” is
clearly the promise in the Old Testament (as
in Jeremiah 31:31-34; Joel 2:28-32) of the
outpouring of the Spirit on all God’s people
in “the latter days.” The emphatic position of
the epithet “Holy One” seems to point to the
effect of His indwelling in the actual
sanctification of the soul thus sealed. From
this passage was probably derived the
ecclesiastical application of the name “seal”
to the sacrament of baptism, which is
undoubtedly made the seal of conversion in
Acts 2:38.” (6)
Power of the Highest
Scriptural Source:
“And the
angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit [Πνεῦμα
(Pneuma), Ἅγιον (Hagion)] will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow
you; therefore the child to be born will be
called holy—the Son of God.” (Luke 1:35)
Exposition; from
Calvin’s Commentary on Luke we learn:
“The Holy
Ghost shall come upon thee The angel does not
explain the manner, so as to satisfy
curiosity, which there was no necessity for
doing. He only leads the virgin to contemplate
the power of the Holy Spirit, and to surrender
herself silently and calmly to his guidance.
The word epeleusetai, shall come upon, denotes
that this would be an extraordinary work, in
which natural means have no place. The next
clause is added by way of exposition, and the
power of the Highest shall overshadow thee:
for the Spirit may be regarded as the
essential power of God, whose energy is
manifested and exerted in the entire
government of the world, as well as in
miraculous events. There is an elegant
metaphor in the word episkiasei, overshadow.
The power of God, by which he guards and
protects his own people, is frequently
compared in Scripture to a shadow, (Psalm
17:8; Psalm 57:1; Psalm 91:1.) But it appears
to have another and peculiar meaning in this
passage. The operation of the Spirit would be
secret, as if an intervening cloud did not
permit it to be beheld by the eyes of men.
Now, as God, in performing miracles, withholds
from us the manner of his proceedings, so what
he chooses to conceal from us ought to be
viewed, on our part, with seriousness and
adoration.” (7)
Spirit of Adoption
Scriptural Source:
“For ye
have not received the spirit of bondage again
to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of
adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.”
(Romans 8:15)
Exposition; from the
notes inGeneva Study Bible we
learn:
“For ye
have not received the {p} spirit of bondage
again {q} to fear; but ye have received the
Spirit of {r} adoption, whereby we cry, Abba,
Father.
He declares
and expounds (as an aside) in these two verses
by what right this name, to be called the
children of God, is given to the believers:
and it is because, he says, they have received
the grace of the gospel, in which God shows
himself, not (as before in the proclaiming of
the law) terrible and fearful, but a most
gentle and loving Father in Christ, so that
with great boldness we call him Father, the
Holy Spirit sealing this adoption in our
hearts by faith.
(p) By the
Spirit is meant the Holy Spirit whom we are
said to receive, when he works in our minds.
(q) Which
fear the Spirit stirred up in our minds by the
preaching of the law.
(r) Who
seals our adoption in our minds, and therefore
opens our mouths.” (8)
Spirit of Christ
Scriptural Source:
“Searching
what, or what manner of time the Spirit of
Christ which was in them did signify, when it
testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ,
and the glory that should follow.” (1 Peter
1:11)
Exposition; from
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary we learn:
“Jesus
Christ was the main subject of the prophets'
studies. Their inquiry into the sufferings of
Christ and the glories that should follow,
would lead to a view of the whole gospel, the
sum whereof is, That Christ Jesus was
delivered for our offences, and raised again
for our justification. God is pleased to
answer our necessities rather than our
requests. The doctrine of the prophets, and
that of the apostles, exactly agree, as coming
from the same Spirit of God. The gospel is the
ministration of the Spirit; its success
depends upon his operation and blessing. Let
us then search diligently those Scriptures
which contain the doctrines of salvation.” (9)
Spirit of Grace
Scriptural Sources:
“Of how
much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be
thought worthy, who hath trodden underfoot the
Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the
covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an
unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the
Spirit of grace?” (Hebrews 10:29)
Exposition, from New
Testament Commentary on Hebrews by Simon J.
Kistemaker we learn:
“Once again
the author of Hebrews employs the device of
contrast. He sets the times of the old
covenant over against those of the new
covenant. He compares the penalty of physical
death with the much more severe sentence of
spiritual death. And he differentiates between
rejecting the law of Moses and despising the
Son of God and the Spirit of God. He asks the
reader to reflect on this difference.
The
sinner who rebels against God in the times of
the new covenant rejects the person of Christ,
the work of Christ, and the person of the Holy
Spirit. And thus he has committed the
unpardonable sin. The writer delineates this
sin in three parts.
a.
Person of the Son of God. Note that the author
again employs the title of Christ, which he
used extensively at the beginning of the
Epistle to the Hebrews. The title is the
highest accorded to Christ. No one can be
compared to this Son, for he excels all:
angels, Moses, Aaron, and Melchizedek.
What
does the sinner do? He tramples under foot
this Son of God. To trample something under
foot is what we do when we get rid of a
bothersome insect. Thus the sinner
figuratively takes the exalted Son of God and
grinds him into the dirt.
b.
Work of the Son of God. The second part is
even more significant because it relates to
the meaning and purpose of the new covenant.
Jesus inaugurated this covenant by his blood
to cleanse his people and sanctify them (Matt.
26:28 and parallels).
Jesus
shed his precious blood and paid the supreme
sacrifice. But this shed blood means nothing
to the rebellious sinner. He regards Jesus’
blood as the blood of any other human being
and Jesus’ death as that of any other mortal.
He considers Jesus to be a mere man whose
death has no significance and whose redemptive
work has no value.
The
author contrasts the defiant sinner within the
Israelite community with the Christian who has
abandoned the church; his point is that
ignorance cannot be used as an excuse. The
sinner knows the Christian faith, for he was
sanctified by the blood of the covenant. That
is, at one time he professed his faith in
Christ, listened to the preaching of the Word
of God, and partook of the holy elements when
he celebrated the Lord’s Supper. But his faith
was not an internal fulfillment. In word and
deed he now repudiates his relationship to
Christ’s work. He breaks with his past.
c.
Person of the Holy Spirit. The third clause in
the description of the unpardonable sin
relates to insulting the Spirit of grace
(Matt. 12:32; Mark 3:29). The sinner
intentionally insults the person of the Holy
Spirit. In his conduct, the sinner points out
the stark contrast between insults hurled at
the Holy Spirit and grace granted by the Holy
Spirit. The Spirit is the source of grace
(Zech. 12:10). Insulting the third person of
the Trinity is the height of sin that cannot
be forgiven. Says John Calvin, “To treat him
with scorn, by whom we are endowed with so
many benefits, is an impiety extremely
wicked.” God himself confronts the sinner and
metes out punishment.” (10)
Spirit of Truth
Scriptural Sources:
“But when
the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto
you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth,
which proceedeth from the Father, he shall
testify of me.”(John 15:26)
Exposition, from the
New Testament Commentary on John by William
Hendriksen we learn:
“Jesus has
been speaking about the hatred which the
disciples will have to endure from the side of
the world, which hates the Father and the Son.
Hence, it is not surprising that in this
connection he again comforts these men by
reminding them of his previous promise (see on
14:16, 17, 26) with respect to the coming of
the Spirit, the Helper. Jesus himself will
send this Helper. He will be sent from the
Father. Essentially, though with difference in
emphasis, this is the same as saying: “I will
request the Father, and he will give you
another Helper” (14:16); “the Helper, the Holy
Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name”
(14:26). Here in 15:26 the emphasis is on the
activity of the Son in the sending of the
Spirit, and on the fact that this Spirit
proceeds eternally from the Father. The
sending of the Spirit was a matter of the
future. Pentecost had not yet arrived. Hence,
the future tense is used: “I will send.” The
procession was taking place at the very moment
when Jesus was speaking (if matters which in
reality transcend time may be viewed from the
aspect of time); hence, the present tense is
used. Were we to say, “The fact that 15:26
states that the Son will send the Spirit
proves that the Father does not send him,” we
would be wrong (see 14:26). Thus also, were we
to say, “The fact that 15:26 states that the
Spirit proceeds from the Father proves that he
does not proceed from the Son,” we would be
wrong (see Acts 5:9; Rom. 8:9; 2 Cor. 3:17;
Gal. 4:6; Phil. 1:19; 1 Pet. 1:11; where the
Spirit is called the Spirit of Christ). After
all, is it so strange that Jesus, speaking as
Mediator between God and man, himself man,
would, during his period of humiliation, speak
of the Spirit as proceeding from The Father?
The
Holy Spirit is here called the Spirit of
truth, just as in 14:17; see on that passage.
That Spirit will testify (see on 1:7, 8). In
the midst of the wicked world he will testify
against the world (16:8, 9). In the midst of
mankind he will bear witness concerning
mankind’s need. In the midst of the Church he
will comfort the Church. The sphere of his
testimony must not be restricted. Whenever a
true servant of God bears witness against the
world, this witness is the work of the Spirit.
Whenever a simple believer, by word and
example, draws others to Christ, this too is
the work of the Spirit. That Spirit always
testifies in connection with the Word, the
Word of Christ (14:26; 16:14, 15). By and
large, the world that is openly hostile to
Christ will not receive him (14:17).
Nevertheless, there are exceptions. From among
those who today are openly hostile some will
be drawn. They will be transferred from the
kingdom of darkness to that of everlasting
light. Was there ever a fiercer persecutor
than Saul (or Paul) of Tarsus? The Spirit was
going to change him (and others like him) to
become a zealous missionary for Christ! See
also on 16:7–11.” (11)
Spirit of Revelation
Scriptural Source:
“That the
God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of
glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom
and revelation in the knowledge of him.” (Ephesians
1:17)
Exposition, from
Bengel's Gnomen we learn:
Ἵνα, that)
A subject of prayer for true Christians.—ὁ
πατὴρ τῆς δόξης, the Father of glory) That
infinite glory, which shines in the face of
Christ; nay, more, [the Father] of the glory,
which is the Son of God Himself; by whom also
the glorious inheritance will become ours,
Ephesians 1:18.—Πνεῦμα σοφίας καὶ ἀποκαλύψεως,
the Spirit of wisdom and revelation) The same
Spirit, who is the Spirit of promise, is, in
the progress of believers, also the Spirit of
wisdom and revelation. Wisdom works wisdom in
us; revelation knowledge.—ἐν, in) Construe
with may give.—αὐτοῦ, of Him) God.” (12)
Spirit of the Living
God
Scriptural Source:
“Forasmuch
as ye are manifestly declared to be the
epistle of Christ ministered by us, written
not with ink, but with the Spirit of the
living God; not in tables of stone, but in
fleshy tables of the heart.” (2 Corinthians
3:3)
Exposition; from the
Expositor's Greek Testament we learn:
“φανερούμενοι
ὅτι ἐστὲ κ.τ.λ.: being made manifest that ye
are an epistle of Christ (sc., written by
Christ), ministered by us (the Apostle
conceiving of himself as his Master’s
amanuensis).—ἐγγεγραμμένη οὐ μέλανι κ.τ.λ.:
written not with ink, but with the Spirit of
the living God; not in tables of stone but in
tables that are hearts of flesh. This
“writing” which the Corinthians exhibit is no
writing with ink on a papyrus roll, but is the
mystical imprint of the Divine Spirit in their
hearts, conveyed through Paul’s ministrations;
cf. Jeremiah 31:33, Proverbs 7:3. And this
leads him to think of the ancient “writing” of
the Law by the “finger of God” on the Twelve
Tables, and to contrast it with this epistle
of Christ on tables that are not of stone but
are “hearts of flesh” (see reff.). For
σάρκινος (cf. λίθινος, ὀστράκινος) see on 2
Corinthians 1:12 above.” (13)
Spirit of the Son
Scriptural Source:
“And
because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the
Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying,
Abba, Father.” (Galatians 4:6)
“A
confirmation of the reality of this reception
of sonship from the experience of the readers;
for the ἐστέ, which, after the foregoing more
general statement, now comes in with its
individual application (comp. Galatians 3:26),
does not refer to the Galatians as Gentile
Christians only (Hofmann), any more than in
Galatians 3:26-29.
ὅτι] is
taken by most expositors, following the
Vulgate, as quoniam (Luther, Castalio, Beza,
Calvin, Grotius, Bengel, Semler, Morus,
Rosenmüller, Paulus, Olshausen,
Baumgarten-Crusius, de Wette, Baur,
Hilgenfeld, Ewald, and others). And this
interpretation (on ὅτι, because, at the
beginning of the sentence, comp. 1 Corinthians
12:15; John 20:29; John 15:19) is the most
simple, natural, and correct; the emphasis is
laid on υἱοί, which is therefore placed at the
end: but because ye are sons, God has sent
forth the Spirit of His Son, etc. He would not
have done this, if ye had not (through the
υἱοθεσία) been υἱοί; thus the reception of the
Spirit is the experimental and practical
divine testimony to the sonship. If not sons
of God, ye would not be the recipients of the
Spirit of His Son. The Spirit is the seal of
the sonship, into which they had entered
through faith—the divine σημεῖον attesting and
confirming it; comp. Romans 8:16. See also
Weiss, bibl. Theol. p. 340.” (14)
Spirit of the Father
Scriptural Source:
“For it is
not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your
Father which speaketh in you.” (Matthew 10:20)
Exposition; from the
Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and
Colleges we learn:
“The Spirit
of your Father: The Christian “apologist”
shall not stand alone. The same Spirit
instructs him which inspires the universal
Church. St Paul experienced this consolation:
“At my first answer no man stood with me.…
notwithstanding the Lord stood with me and
strengthened me.” 2 Timothy 4:16-17.” (15)
Spirit
Scriptural Source:
“That which
is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which
is born of the Spirit is spirit.” (John 3:6)
Exposition; fromSchaff's Popular
Commentary on the New Testamentwe learn:
“That which
hath been born of the flesh is flesh, and that
which hath been born of the Spirit is spirit.
In the last verse was implied the law that
like is produced from like, since the pure and
spiritual members of God’s kingdom must be
born of water and spirit. Here this law is
expressly stated. Flesh produces flesh. Spirit
produces spirit. Thus the necessity of a new
birth is enforced, and the ‘cannot’ of John
3:3 explained. It is not easy to say whether
‘flesh,’ as here used, definitely indicates
the sinful principles of human nature, or only
that which is outward, material, not spiritual
but merely natural. The latter seems more
likely, both from the context (where the
contrast is between the natural and the
spiritual birth) and from John’s usage
elsewhere. Though the word occurs as many as
thirteen times in this Gospel (chap. John
1:13-14, John 6:51-52, etc., John 8:15, John
17:2), in no passage does it express the
thought of sinfulness, as it does in Paul’s
Epistles and in 1 John 2:16. Another
difficulty meets us in the second clause. Are
we to read ‘born of the Spirit’ or ‘of the
spirit’? Is the reference to the Holy Spirit
Himself, who imparts the principle of the new
life, or to the principle which He
imparts,-the principle just spoken of in John
3:5, ‘of water and spirit’ It is hard to say,
and the difference in meaning is extremely
small; but when we consider the analogy of the
two clauses, the latter seems more
likely.—There is no reference here to ‘water;’
but, as we have seen, the water has reference
to the past alone,-the state which gives place
to the new life. To speak of this would be
beside the point of the verse now before us,
which teaches that the spiritual life of the
kingdom of God can only come from the new
spiritual principle.”(16)
Notes:
1.H. D. M. Spence and
Joseph S. Exell, The
Pulpit Commentary, Ezra, Nehemiah Esther,
Job, Vol. 7., (Grand Rapids, Michigan,
Eerdmans Publishing Company reprint 1978), p.
534.
2.Matthew Poole, Matthew
Poole's Commentary
on the Holy Bible, Vol. 3, (Peabody,
Massachusetts, Hendrickson Publishers, 1985),
p. 357.
3.Jamieson, Fausset and
Brown, Commentary
on the Whole Bible, (Grand Rapids,
Michigan, Zondervan, 1977) p. 521.
4.John Gill, Exposition
of the Old and New Testaments, Hebrews,
9 Volumes, John, (Grace Works, Multi-Media
Labs), 2011, pp. 169-171.
5.Albert Barnes, THE AGES
DIGITAL LIBRARYCOMMENTARY, Barnes’ Notes on
the Bible, Acts, Volume 5, p. 1525.
6.Charles John Ellicott,
Bible
Commentary for English Reader, Ephesians,
Vol. VIII., (London, England, Cassell and
Company), p. 19.
7.John Calvin, Calvin's
Commentaries, Luke, Vol. II., (Grand
Rapids, Michigan, Baker Book House Reprinted
1979), p. 42.
8.Geneva Study Bible, (Tolle Lege Press,
White Hall, West Virginia), p. 1148.
9.Matthew Henry, Matthew
Henry's Concise Commentary, I Peter,
(Nashville, Tennessee, Thomas Nelson), p.
2038.
10.Simon J. Kistemaker, New
Testament Commentary, Hebrews, (Grand
Rapids, Michigan, Baker Book House, 1986), pp.
294, 295.
11.William Hendriksen, New
Testament Commentary, John, (Grand
Rapids, Michigan, Baker Book House, 1984), pp.
314, 315.
12.D. Joh. Alberti
Bengelii Gnomon
Novi Testamenti, (Tubingae,
sumtibus Ludov. Frid. Fues, Harvard
University), pp. 744, 745.
14.Heinrich August Wilhelm
Meyer, Meyer's
NT Commentary, Galatians, Study
Light.Org Online resource.
15.Contributors, John James
Stewart Perowne, Joseph Armitage Robinson,
Frederic Henry Chase, Reginald St. John
Parry Cambridge,
Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges,
Matthew, (Ithaca, NY, Cornell
University), p. 165.
16.Philip Schaff, Schaff's
Popular Commentary on the New Testament,
John, Vol. II, (Book digitized by
Google from the library of Harvard
University and uploaded to the Internet
Archive), p. 5.
Mr.
Kettler has previously published articles
in the Chalcedon Report and Contra Mundum.
He and his wife Marea attend the
Westminster, CO, RPCNA Church. Mr. Kettler
is the author of the book defending the
Reformed Faith against attacks. Available
at: www.TheReligionThatStartedInAHat.com
Westminster
Confession, Chapter 2 - Of God, and of the
Holy Trinity.
Section
1.) There
is but one only(1) living and
true God,(2) who is infinite
in being and perfection,(3) a
most pure spirit,(4)invisible,(5) without
body, parts,(6) or passions;(7) immutable,(8) immense,(9) eternal,(10) incomprehensible,(11) almighty,(12)most
wise,(13) most holy,(14) most
free,(15) most absolute,(16) working
all things according to the counsel of His own
immutable and most righteous will,(17) for
His own glory;(18) most
loving,(19) gracious,
merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness
and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression,
and sin,(20) the rewarder of
them that diligently seek Him;(21) and
withal, most just, and terrible in His
judgments;(22) hating all sin,(23) and
who will by no means clear the guilty.(24)
Section
2.) God
hath all life,(1) glory,(2) goodness,(3) blessedness,(4) in
and
of Himself; and is alone in and unto Himself
all-sufficient, not standing in need of any
creatures which He hath made,(5) not
deriving any glory from them,(6) but
only manifesting His own glory in, by, unto,
and upon them: He is the alone fountain of all
being, of whom, through whom, and to whom are
all things,(7) and hath most
sovereign dominion over them, to do by them,
for them, or upon them whatsoever Himself
pleaseth.(8) In His sight all
things are open and manifest;(9) His
knowledge is infinite, infallible, and
independent upon the creature,(10) so
as nothing is to Him contingent, or uncertain.(11) He
is most holy in all His counsels, in all His
works, and in all His commands.(12) To
Him is due from angels and men, and every
other creature, whatsoever worship, service,
or obedience He is pleased to require of them.(13)
Section
3.) In
the unity of the Godhead there be three
persons, of one substance, power, and
eternity; God the Father, God the Son, and God
the Holy Ghost.(1) The Father
is of none, neither begotten, nor proceeding;
the Son is eternally begotten of the Father;(2) the
Holy Ghost eternally proceeding from the
Father and the Son.(3)
“Not by
works of righteousness which we have done, but
according to his mercy he saved us, by the
washing of regeneration, and renewing of the
Holy Ghost” (Titus 3:5). “To God only wise, be
glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen”
(Romans 16:27). “heirs according to the
promise” (Galatians 3:28, 29).
Mr. Kettler
has previously published articles in the
Chalcedon Report and Contra Mundum. He and his
wife Marea attend the Westminster, CO, RPCNA
Church. Mr. Kettler is the author of the book
defending the Reformed Faith against attacks.
Available at:
www.TheReligionThatStartedInAHat.com