The Holy Spirit

I have heard some teach that there is no separate Holy Spirit, but that He is identical with the Father. However, Jesus says this:

12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.  (John 16:12-14 ESV my emphasis)

If the Holy Spirit does not speak on his own authority, then there is someone directing him what to say, and he is separate from the one who is directing him.

Jesus also did not speak or act on his own authority (John 5:19), so the director is the Father.

If the Holy Spirit takes what belongs to Jesus,  then he is separate from Jesus.

Therefore, since the Holy Spirit is separate both from Jesus and the Father, He is an individual.

Matthew 24:26 Go Not Forth

*Note that all emphasis in these scriptures is mine.*

Mat 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 25 Behold, I have told you before. 26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.

I have had an education in the application of this passage recently!

From time to time there have been "outpourings" of "the Holy Spirit" in various places, and people have flocked to see and experience them. But in this passage Jesus tells us not to do that, and many who have disregarded this instruction have found themselves in league with satan, deceived, thinking they were serving Jesus when they were not. Aside from not doing what Jesus said, which is always wrong, there are at least two errors in this.

The first error is a misunderstanding of the Holy Spirit and His function: the Holy Spirit does not seek to put Himself forward, but ALWAYS points to Jesus, the Son of God:

John 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. 14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

The Holy Spirit is pictured as the helper, the comforter, the teacher, the guide. He does not make a show of Himself by scattering gold dust or feathers. He does not cause loss of self control in any way. These things are deceptions.

The second error is thinking that God is some PLACE. He created everything and is not constrained by locality or time. Going SOMEWHERE to be near Him is, at best, a waste of time and money. If you seek Him, He will be found by you, wherever you are:

Deuteronomy 4:29 But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.

Psalms 119:151 Thou art near, O LORD; and all thy commandments are truth.

Acts 17:24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; 25 Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; 26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; 27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:

So, you who want to know God, He is near you. You have only to go to Him in prayer, asking the Holy Spirit to show the way, and read what He has said in the Bible. Seek Him in these ways, and He will be found by you without your going anywhere.

Galatians 5:16-18 Under the Law

Galatians 5:16  This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 17  For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. 18  But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

There is a lot of talk about whether Christians are under the law, and what place the law has in a Christian's life. Well, I want to share something from this passage which God just showed me.

In his letters, Paul talks a lot about the law. I won't try to go through all that here, it is a huge study. But in these verses, he concludes by saying if we are led by the Spirit, we are not under the law. This does not mean that Christians are never, ever accountable to God's law. It does mean that IF I, as a Christian, am being led by the Holy Spirit, THEN I am not under the law.
Conversely, if I, as a Christian, am being led by my sinful, fleshly desires, then I AM under the law, and the Holy Spirit uses it to convict me of my sin.

Luke 13:15 Freedom

 ¹⁰And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath.
 ¹¹And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself.
 ¹²And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity.
 ¹³And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.
 ¹⁴And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day.
 ¹⁵The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering?
 ¹⁶And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day? (Luke 13:10-16, King James Version)

 ⁵And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day? (Luke 14:5, King James Version)

These two passages are similar. I have quoted the whole story from Luke 13 to give the idea of both. There is much that could be said, but what I noticed were the animals. The ox was a clean animal; that is, it was acceptable for sacrifice. The donkey ("ass") was unclean; it was not acceptable for sacrifice. But they were both useful as working animals, and both needed regular care.

Jesus is making a point, or rather several points, in these healings and in His use of oxen and donkeys as examples. He shows that God will care for the Jew (ox/clean) and Gentile (donkey/unclean). He will set them free (loose them from their stalls/pull them from the pit). He will give them the Holy Spirit (water).

God will do this through His Son, Jesus, to all who believe.