November 2009
The Giver and the Gift: A Study of the Holy Spirit
by John Schoenheit
The doctrine of the Trinity teaches that "the Holy Spirit" is the Third Person in the Godhead. This has led to people misreading and misunderstanding many Scriptures about the wonderful gift of God, the holy spirit. This teaching, "The Giver and the Gift," shows that because God is holy and God is spirit, one of the names for God is "the Holy Spirit." Similarly, God is a solid foundation and place of shelter so one of His names is "the Rock" (Ps. 28:1). No one thinks there is another God called "Rock," so everyone knows that is just another name for God, and people should understand the same thing about God when He is called "the Holy Spirit." When God gave gifts to mankind, one of the gifts He gave was the gift of His very nature, which is holy and spirit, and therefore called "holy spirit."

Because both God the Giver and the gift God gives have the same name, they are often confused. After differentiating between the Giver and the gift, this teaching shows that the holy spirit God gave in Old Testament times was different from the gift of holy spirit He gives to Christians. The gift is still holy and still spirit, so the name is the same, but a study of its characteristics shows that it is a different gift. If we are going to understand the Bible, and what God has done for us as Christians, it is vital that we understand what the Bible says about the Holy Spirit, both the Giver and the gift.

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