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them into all the truth 1 that the
title of Paraclete, which means Helper, Comforter, is given to the Holy Spirit
by the Lord Jesus Christ in the Gospel.2
The title of God is also given Him. For in the Acts of the Apostles, when a
man called Ananias kept back part of the money for which he had sold some land,
and pretended that he was consecrating to God's service the whole sum, the
Apostle Peter, addressing him, said: 'Ananias, 3 why hath Satan
filled thy heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of
the land? Whiles it remained, did it not remain thine own? and after it was
sold, was it not in thy power? How is it that thou hast conceived this thing in
thy heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.' Here Peter distinctly
declares the Deity of the Holy Spirit.
The same teaching is given in many other verses in the New Testament. For
example, it is written: 'Know 4 ye not that ye are a temple of God,
and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man destroyeth the temple of
God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.'
In this passage the Apostles reminds us that God's Holy Spirit lives and reigns
in the hearts of all true Christians, purifying their hearts from all evil, and
rendering their bodies also holy and pure. The Apostle warns them
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DOCTRINE OF THE HOLY TRINITY
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against letting themselves be corrupted and destroyed by sin, because he says
they are God's temple, and that fearful punishment will come upon those who
defile with sin their own hearts and bodies, which are God's temple or shrine.
But it is only by the indwelling of God Himself that any place can become a
temple. Even the magnificent temple which Solomon built in Jerusalem did not
become a temple until God manifested His presence in it. If the Spirit of God
were not really divine, His residence could not make a pious man's heart the
temple of God, as this passage of holy Scripture teaches that it does. Hence it
is evident that the Holy Spirit possesses Deity.
It is well known that many of our Muslim brethren distinguish between the
titles 'Spirit of God'
(روح
الله) and 'Holy Spirit'
( روح
القدس), and that they fancy that the
former term is one of the titles of the Lord Jesus Christ, while the latter
denotes the Angel Gabriel. But those who are acquainted with the holy Scriptures
are aware that this is a mistake. The Lord Jesus Christ is nowhere in the holy
Scriptures termed 'the Spirit of God', but this title and that of 'the Holy
Spirit' are reserved for the third Hypostasis
(اقنوم) of the Most Holy Trinity. This
will be evident from such verses as the following:—
Cast 1 me not away from thy presence;
And take not thy Holy Spirit from me:
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