On and after the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was very much the driving force behind the activity of the church. But who was the Spirit? Had he existed before this time?
The Spirit certainly existed before Pentecost, because the New Testament tells us that the Holy Spirit is God himself. The Holy Spirit had been active both in the life of Jesus and in Old Testament times. Read more
The New Testament also takes its starting-point in the confession and the commandment that God is one. Jesus himself repeats the opening words of the ‘Shema’; Paul writes to the Corinthians: ‘For us there is one God, from whom are all things and for whom we exist.’ James writes: You believe that God is one; you do well.’ The apostles time and again speak of God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, the Father and Jesus are clearly distinguished. Yet the same writers say, with equal emphasis, that Jesus Christ himself is also God. Read more
But why do we as Christians make so much fuss about all this? If we cannot understand it anyway, is it not wiser to drop it as a piece of sterile speculation? Does it really have any theological and religious significance? Is it important for our own personal experience? The answer is Yes. The significance of this doctrine is so great that it is the very foundation of our Christian faith. Why? Read more
All we know about God has come to us in history. He has revealed himself in historical events and in words spoken by historical people. What he has revealed has affected the history of the nations it has touched.
God has chosen to reveal himself to humanity in a number of remarkable ways. One of these is to use deeply significant names for himself. His ‘names‘ or ‘titles’ reflect what and who he is. He is ‘Yahweh‘, the personal God of the covenant with his people. (The old word for this was ‘Jehovah’; in most Bibles it is given as ‘the LORD’.) The name signifies ‘I am what I am’. He is ‘Yahweh the everlasting God‘. He is addressed as ‘Yahweh provides’, ‘Yahweh is our righteousness’, ‘the Ancient of days’, ‘the holy One of Israel’. Read more
