Page 58 - Bible Writers Theology Original

42 ♦ Bible Writers' Theology Chapter Four
Spirit," instead of saying "the Spirit of God" or "the breath of God." However, the title Holy Spirit can refer to God the Father, for "God is a Spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth"
(John 4:24). The Bible describes the spirit of God as the breath of God, with ..no different subsistences apart from God the Father. (See Genesis 2:7; Job 4:9;
Job 32:8; Job 33:4; Isaiah 11:1-4; John 20:22.)
"Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is t h e r e a G o d b e s i d e m e ? y e a , thereis no God;I know not any." And again, "Thus saith the LORD, the redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that
maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself" is the admonition of the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 44:8,24). That was the lesson the children of Abraham had to leam tune and again throughout the succeeding generations until the coming of the Messiah. Israel knew beyond any doubt that there was one God, an invisible spirit, and the creator of the whole world, who had disclosed
Himself in a special way to their nation.
As we look at the Old Testament teaching about the Spirit of God, we are told that He breathes His life giving spirit into man. "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul" (Genesis 2:7). That is where it all started for mankind (Psalm 36:9; Job 32:8; 33:4). Indeed in the Old Testament language about the Spirit of God is restricted almost exclusively to the area of relationship between God and man.
TheSpiritofGodisnotaninherentqualityofman. TheOldTestament uisists that this powerful mysterious spirit belongs to God and to God alone. It is essentially the personal God YAHWEH in action. If we look at it more closely, the word used for the Spirit of God in both Hebrew and Greek is highly sigmficant. "Ruach" in Hebrew and "Pneuma" in Greek have three
basic meaning^: "wind", "breath", and "Spirit". Thus, the Holy Spirit is not another person or another God, but rather God the Father in His life-giving work. God the Father pours out His Holy Spirit (Isaiah 11:1-4). His Spirit not only makes his creatures alive, but also lives among them, and in them, being their life.
The Spirit of the Father is both limitless and endless; so is the Word of God. According to Job 32:8, "There is a spirit in man: and the inspiration oftheAlmightygiveththemunderstanding." Thisverseindicatesthatthe SpiritofGodisthebreathoftheFatherand not a third God or a third per sonoftheGodhead. Justastheworld came forth by the word of command.