15
translator and become interpretation rather than translation. Moreover, they obviously affect the sense of the
passage in which they occur.
It is very surprising that so little has been written to deal with this subject. The best work we know is Dr. E.W.
*
Bullinger's The Giver and His Gifts, which deals with every occurrence of the word `spirit' in the New Testament.
If one carefully studies a chapter like Romans 8, where the word `spirit' occurs frequently, one is constantly faced
with this problem of when to use capitals. In the current editions of the Authorized Version the capital `S' is used
all through the first 14 verses with the exception of `spiritually minded' in verse 6. The Revised Version is very
different and commences using a small `s' in verse 4, making `spirit' the opposite of `flesh', in other words the two
natures in the believer are the subject, and we feel this to be nearer to that which the apostle Paul was intending. Let
no one think that the Holy Spirit is being eliminated in this way for there cannot be a gift without a giver and so
there cannot be a new nature in the believer without the work of the Holy Spirit. `That which is born of the flesh is
flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit' (John 3:6). The Giver and the gift clearly appear in verse 16 of
Romans 8.
The apostle Peter in his second epistle describes this gift coming through `exceeding great and precious
promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature ...' (2 Pet. 1:3,4). Every truly saved person
therefore possesses a small portion of God's holy nature implanted within by the Holy Spirit and this in direct
contrast to the old sinful nature inherited from fallen Adam, hence the internal conflict that is often experienced.
The doctrine of the two natures in the believer is of great importance, and failure to understand the teaching of the
Word of God on this subject can cause many difficulties both in the interpretation of Scripture and in the individual
life. Here again a work of Dr. Bullinger is of great help, The Two Natures in the Child of God, and this should be
carefully considered by lovers of the Word.
A study of the word `spirit' in the New Testament will reveal that it is used in fourteen different ways. Readers
who have The Companion Bible should turn to Appendix 101 where much helpful information is given. Sometimes
it is employed with the definite article `the' and sometimes without it. It is used with hagion (holy) in four ways:
(1)
pneuma hagion (holy spirit)
(2)
hagion pneuma (spirit holy)
(3)
the hagion pneuma (the holy spirit)
(4)
the pneuma the hagion (the spirit the holy).
All these are rendered in the Authorized Version `the Holy Spirit', but is this correct? Pneuma hagion (without the
definite article) occurs 52 times in the New Testament and often refers to the gift the Holy Spirit gives rather than
Himself, whereas the longer expression (4) refers to Him personally. It has been pointed out that the Acts of the
Apostles is really the Acts of the Holy Spirit, for He is the dominating personality of the book, and this longer
emphatic expression referring to Himself and His activities occurs 15 times (Acts 1:16; 2:33; 5:3,32; 7:51; 10:44,
47; 11:15; 13:2,4; 15:8; 19:6; 20:23,28; 28:25).
There is no doubt that great care is needed in interpreting the various phrases employed in the New Testament
containing the word `spirit', otherwise wrong doctrines can be built up which lead to error and wrong understanding
of other parts of holy Scripture.
The Baptism of the Holy Spirit
With baptism, we come to a doctrine that has done more to shatter external unity in Christendom than anything
else. Many are the ideas that Christians have concerning baptism, some of them leading to division and disunity.
We should seek to study the Scriptures on this point with an open, teachable mind, and if necessary, be willing to
unlearn and learn afresh. First of all, let us look at the words used. The verbs are bapto and baptizo. The former is
used only three times in the New Testament, namely Luke 16:24, John 13:26 and Revelation 19:13. The word
*
Now being published under the title Word Studies on the Holy Spirit by Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids,
Michigan 49501: ISBN 0-8254-2246-9