THE
GIVER
AND
THE
GIFT!
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The Giver And The Gift
[This article is from The Gift of Holy Spirit: The Power to be like Christ.]
God is the ultimate Giver. From the time He created man in His own image
(Gen. 1:27) until this very day, God has been giving gifts to mankind.
James 1:17 tells us: 'Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming
down from the Father...' Ephesians 1:3 says God has blessed us with
'every spiritual blessing' in Christ. We have already seen that because
God is holy and God is spirit, He is referred to as 'the Holy Spirit.'
However, we need to be aware there is another use of holy spirit that
does not refer to God, but to the gift of God. God loves us so much that
when we choose to make Jesus Christ our Lord, we are born again, and
receive God's very nature as a gift. The nature of God is, like God,
both holy and spirit, and so it is referred to as 'holy spirit.'
It is important to capitalize 'Holy Spirit' when it refers to God, and
it is just as important to use lower case letters ('holy spirit') when
referring to the gift God has given to those who are saved. God the
Giver, who is 'the Holy Spirit,' gives His gift, holy spirit, to those
who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a tremendous truth, and
shows how much our heavenly Father loves us. Through the years God has
given many gifts to mankind, but what could be a greater gift than the
very nature of God Himself? It behooves us as God's children to learn as
much as we can about this wonderful gift of holy spirit.
Three things have contributed greatly to people's misunderstanding and
ignorance concerning God's gift of holy spirit. The first is the
translators capitalize the 'H' and 'S' and translate pneuma hagion as
'Holy Spirit' when there is no reason in the Greek text to do so, and
even when the context indicates the gift of God, holy spirit, is the
subject being discussed. The second is the translators, not being aware
pneuma hagion can refer to the gift of God, added the definite article
'the,' making the Bible read 'the Holy Spirit' when there is no word
'the' in the Greek text. When the article 'the' is absent in the text,
it is usually an indication the text is referring to the gift of holy
spirit, and not 'the Holy Spirit.' The third is the translators
translated pronouns associated with pneuma hagion as masculine, 'he'
instead of 'it,' a subject we cover in Chapter 4.
The reason the translators have been so insensitive to the subject of
the gift of holy spirit is the doctrine of the Trinity, which says 'the
Holy Spirit' is the 'Third Person' in the Trinity and for the most part
fails to recognize that pneuma hagion can refer to the gift of God. It
is due to the doctrine of the Trinity that translators capitalize the
'H' and 'S' when the context is clearly referring to the gift God gives,
add a 'the' when none is in the Greek text, and translate the pronouns
associated with pneuma hagion as masculine, even when the context is
clearly referring to the gift of God and neuter pronouns are called for.
However, there have been Trinitarian scholars who have recognized God's
gift of holy spirit.
E. W. Bullinger (1837-1913) was a linguist, author (of more than a dozen
major books and numerous tracts and pamphlets, as well as The Companion
Bible), editor (of the Portuguese Reference Bible for the Trinitarian
Bible Society), and musician. Concerning the fact English Bibles almost
always translate pneuma hagion as 'the Holy Spirit,' he wrote:
Bullinger is quite correct. In many places where pneuma hagion refers to
the gift of God, translating it as 'the Holy Spirit' instead of simply
'holy spirit' misleads the English reader. We need to recognize pneuma
hagion can refer to the gift of God, and when it appears in the Bible
ask ourselves if it refers to God or His gift. When pneuma hagion
appears in the Greek text without the article 'the' (about 50 times in
the New Testament) it usually refers to the gift of God. However,
when pneuma hagion has the definite article 'the,' it can be referring
to either the Giver or the gift. When the definite article 'the' is used
with the gift, as in Acts 2:38, Scripture is simply making the point
that holy spirit is 'the' gift, i.e., the one being referred to in the
context or in the scope of Scripture. Thus, in the case of Acts 2:38,
because Peter was referring to the gift people would receive and what
the apostles had just received, the gift of holy spirit was 'the' gift
that had been poured out that day.
Many verses of Scripture reveal holy spirit is a gift given by God to
man. The Greek word translated 'gift' in Acts 2:38 (and many other
verses that refer to holy spirit) is dorea, which is defined in Vine's
Expository Dictionary of the New Testament as 'a free gift,' stressing
its gratuitous character.'
Acts 2:38 is a verse from Peter's sermon on the Day of Pentecost, the
day that holy spirit was first poured out in New Birth, and thus the day
the Christian Church started. Thousands upon thousands of Jews had
gathered at the Temple in Jerusalem to celebrate the Old Testament feast
of Pentecost, and Peter made an impassioned appeal to them, saying that
if they repented and made Christ their Lord, they would receive the gift
of holy spirit.
Peter's sermon was effective, and about 3,000 people were saved that day
(Acts 2:41). What should not be lost on us, however, is the distinct
difference Peter made between God, the Giver, and holy spirit, the gift.
Peter made the point that God had promised He would 'pour out my Spirit
[spirit] on all people' (Acts 2:17). It is God who made the promise, and
who, through His Son Jesus, pours out on people not Himself, but His
nature, holy spirit. God is the Giver; holy spirit is His gift to
mankind. The context, specifically Acts 2:4, makes it clear that pneuma
hagion in verse 38 refers to the gift of God.
Besides using 'holy spirit' instead of 'Holy Spirit,' there is another
very important thing we need to be aware of in Acts 2:4; something is
easily seen in the Greek text but ignored by almost all translators. As
we pointed out earlier, when pneuma hagion refers to the gift from God,
usually there is no article 'the' in the Greek text. That is the case in
Acts 2:4a, which should be translated as 'And they were all filled with
holy spirit,..,' instead of, 'And they were all filled with the holy
spirit,..'
It would be much easier to see Acts 2:4a refers to the gift of God if
the translators had followed the Greek text and not added the definite
article 'the' to the English Bible. The apostles were not filled with
God, they were filled with the gift of God, holy spirit. Another verse
referring to holy spirit as a free gift, dorea, occurs in Acts 10.
These verses make it clear that holy spirit is a gift from God. Thus, as
we said, God who is holy and spirit, gives 'holy spirit,' His very
nature, to believers. This is why Scripture says Christians are
'partakers of the divine nature.'
Putting together the above three verses, we learn believers are filled
with the gift of God, holy spirit, which is the nature of God. In his
teaching on Pentecost, Peter made it clear God raised Jesus from the
dead and then gave him the gift of holy spirit that had been promised in
the Old Testament, after which Jesus did the actual pouring out of the
spirit on the people (Acts 2:32 and 33).
Jesus had taught that God would give holy spirit to those who ask Him.
How could that have been the case? Well, Acts 19 informs us the one who
had discipled these people in Ephesus taught only John's water baptism,
so they did not know about the gift of holy spirit they received when
they were saved.
Other verses than these refer to the gift of holy spirit. For example:
In Acts 8 there is a record of a man named Simon offering money for the
power to give the gift of holy spirit, and being rebuffed by Peter.
Since it is the context that ultimately determines whether pneuma hagion
refers to 'the Holy Spirit' (God) or 'holy spirit' (the gift), it is a
good rule of thumb to remember that whenever pneuma hagion is referred
to as 'given,' 'filling,' 'falling upon' or as the element of baptism,
it is the gift. In contrast, if the pneuma hagion is referred to as if
it were a person, it is referring to the Giver, God.
For example, Acts 1:5 records Jesus telling the Apostles they will
'...be baptized in holy spirit...' (Author's translation). The Apostles
were about to be baptized, fully immersed, in God's gift of holy spirit.
Although almost all translations read 'the Holy Spirit,' there is no
article 'the' in the Greek text, and there is no reason in the context
to capitalize pneuma hagion. The Apostles were not baptized in God, but
in His gift.
However, Acts 5:3a properly capitalizes Holy Spirit.
The article 'the' is in the Greek text, because Ananias did not lie to
the gift of God, but to God. Here is another example:
Here, the article 'the' is in the Greek text, and 'Holy Spirit' is
properly capitalized, because it was God who spoke through Isaiah the
prophet.
We have now seen that the Greek words pneuma hagion can refer to either
God, the Giver, who is the 'Holy Spirit,' or to the gift of God's
nature, which is also holy and spirit, but should be referred to as
'holy spirit.' We are now in a much better position to understand the
great thing God did for us in giving us His very nature and thereby
filling us with His power.
For further study watch the four part video series:
The Giver And Gift.
 
2 Timothy 2:15
Study to shew thyself approved unto God,
a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth.
May you, and all those you love,
be so blessed and fortunate
as to stand approved before God,
unashamed of your workmanship.
May God Always Bless You and Yours As
You Stand Steadfast on His Word Of Truth!
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