Posted on 09/02/2016 5:30:41 AM PDT by metmom
“There is one body and one Spirit just as also you were called in one hope of your calling” (Ephesians 4:4).
Although there were distinctions of ministry, one and the same Holy Spirit has been at work in both the Old and New Covenants.
The famous radio broadcast of October 30, 1938, in which Orson Welles and his fellow actors fooled many of the American people into thinking an actual invasion from Mars was occurring, is a classic example of how miscommunication can drastically distort people’s understanding of the facts. Because many listeners failed to hear the disclaimer about the fictional nature of the War of the Worlds dramatization, thousands were panicked into believing that Martians were beginning to invade New York City and the rest of the East Coast. Not many hours after the program ended, most people realized it was not a broadcast of actual events. Nevertheless, apologies and clarifications were necessary in subsequent days.
Scriptural truth is seldom miscommunicated with that same kind of sensational result. But that doesn’t mean we never need to correct previous thinking about certain doctrines. One of these concerns the Holy Spirit. Due to popular teaching on the dissimilarities between the Old and New Covenants, many Christians have understood the Spirit’s Person and role as being sharply different between the Testaments.
But the apostle Paul makes it clear in Ephesians 4:4 that there is but one Spirit (also see 1 Cor. 12:11, 13). Paul also knew that since the Holy Spirit is God, He is therefore unchanging; the same Spirit has been at work throughout redemptive history. We can believe with certainty that the Holy Spirit will always be the saving agent who draws people to the Lord. That’s what Jesus taught when He instructed the Jewish teacher Nicodemus about the new birth (John 3:5-10).
There are important distinctives between the Holy Spirit’s Old Covenant and New Covenant roles (see Acts 1:5). His New Covenant work is more intimate and personal for believers, but His essential character has always been the same.
We should rejoice that there is no confusion between two Spirits, but that there is one Holy Spirit who has been active in God’s plan, from Genesis 1:1 right to the present and for all eternity.
Suggestions for Prayer
Thank the Lord for giving you a clear understanding of the Holy Spirit’s oneness.
For Further Study
Read John 3:1-15.
What should Nicodemus already have understood about the new birth? How far back does Jesus reach to make an analogy about God’s method of salvation?
Studying God’s Word ping
Today is $5 Friday at Ligonier.org and I just noticed one of the sale items is Sinclair Ferguson’s excellent teaching DVD “Who is the Holy Spirit?” The regular price is close to $50, so this is a great opportunity to get it. Some consider Dr. Ferguson the world’s leading scholar on the Holy Spirit.
Only those who did NOT listen to the leadin to the program.
Radio programming charts in Sunday newspapers listed the CBS drama, "The War of the Worlds". The New York Times for October 30, 1938, also included the show in its "Leading Events of the Week" ("Tonight — Play: H. G. Wells's 'War of the Worlds'") and published a photograph of Welles with some of the Mercury players, captioned, "Tonight's show is H. G. Wells' 'War of the Worlds'".[10]:169
Announcements that "The War of the Worlds" is a dramatization of a work of fiction were made on the full CBS network at four points during the broadcast October 30, 1938 — at the beginning, before the middle break, after the middle break, and at the end.[22]:43 The middle break was delayed ten minutes to accommodate the dramatic content.[11]:94
Another announcement was repeated on the full CBS network that same evening at 10:30 p.m., 11:30 p.m. and midnight: "For those listeners who tuned in to Orson Welles's Mercury Theatre on the Air broadcast from 8 to 9 p.m. Eastern Standard Time tonight and did not realize that the program was merely a modernized adaptation of H. G. Wells's famous novel War of the Worlds, we are repeating the fact which was made clear four times on the program, that, while the names of some American cities were used, as in all novels and dramatizations, the entire story and all of its incidents were fictitious."[22]:43–44
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_of_the_Worlds_(radio_drama)
Bad actors will fool many of the American people once again someday using the “Social Networks” of the Internet.
Thanks.
I ordered some stuff that looked interesting.
That’s great! I’m glad I thought to post the link. I’ve bought a mountain of books and DVD’s from them. I always check $5 Friday’s.
I do not believe there would be near as much misuderstanding if Believers would do some reading them selves instead of depending wholly on some one else.
Christians need to avoid these sharks selling books like the plauge, not that every thing they teach is wrtong but why pay them when the greatest teacher in all time taught free.
What would Jesus say about people getting rich from the Gospel? what would he say about some one who would trust a shyster more than his own words?
What kinda of alien concept are you pushing here!
Well, it was just a thought and it would be different.
Decades ago I listened to J. Vernon McGee radio of Thr ough The Bible radio. He had many books which were given to those sending money to keep the broadcasts going. I took those books on the road with me for hours of study. It was an interesting experience having McGee’s voice in my head as I read his books. His accent was like music to my ears.
Almost every thing (I am still looking for the exemption) Jesus said in the NT was a quote from the OT.
Including:
Mat 27:46 At about three o’clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, My God, why have You abandoned Me?”
Psa 22:1 “ My God, my God, why have You abandoned me? Why are You so far away when I groan for help?
I do not believe there would be near as much misunderstanding if Believers would do some reading them selves instead of depending wholly on some one else.
I used to listen to him a lot, one day he was readng a scripture from the old testament, he read it three times and then he said: i beg your pardon folks i don`t know what that means.
He was my kind of preacher from then on.
There are alot of dumb questions, and also some dumb answers, but i think it is a good thing to discuss if we use scripture to back up what we believe.
When i first started going to Church in 197o we would take turns reading a verse from the Bible, but there were always certain words that i did not know the meaning of and found out that some of the older Christians did not know the meaning of them either.
So we definatly had to live by faith because we did not understand the Bible
So since i have found the meaning of a few words it does help a lot.
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