The Word and the Holy Spirit

John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” In the same way, the Holy Spirit is with God and thus He is God. The Father is the essence of God. Though He fills heaven and earth, no one can see or feel Him at a moment in time. The Son of God is the image of God. So, everything that the Father created was through the Son. Without the Son, the Father does not and cannot do anything.

  • All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made (John 1:3).
  • Has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds (Hebrews 1:2).

The Holy Spirit is the intrinsic Spirit of God. Without the Holy Spirit, the Father does not and cannot reveal Himself. Without the Holy Spirit, it is impossible to see the Father through the Word. Therefore, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are inseparably one.

  • This is He who came by water and blood – Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one (1 John 5:6-8).

The water here signifies a spirit-composition. It describes an eternal and spiritual characteristic, not a personality. The word Spirit in the Bible should not always be taken as the Holy Spirit. It can also mean an eternal substance of God. Though the word spirit describes something that is immaterial, it is still not an abstract or a concept. A spirit can be something or someone that exists eternally. The blood always signifies life. “He who came by water and blood – Jesus Christ” means He came as eternal life.

Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). The water here also indicates a spirit-composition. More specifically, it refers to the words of God. His words are spiritual. Therefore, Jesus also said, “The words that I speak to you are spirit (composition) and they are life” (John 6:63b).

The words of Jesus Christ are spirit, eternal substance. Words spoken by people are just temporary sounds. Because they are not spiritual, they linger for a moment in the mind but are soon forgotten. They can never go into a person’s spirit. Only spiritual things can enter and dwell in the spirit of a person.

  • The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14).

The Word is the one who was with God from the beginning. This Word is also spiritual (eternal) in the same way the words of Jesus are spiritual (eternal). The difference is that The Word is the eternal Person (the Son of God) while the words of Jesus are the eternal substance from His mouth.

The Word who became flesh is Jesus Christ (Matt. 16:16), so His flesh is a spirit-composition and thus eternal. Jesus said, “Eat My flesh” (John 6:54). Just as man’s flesh is made of physical components, namely dust, Jesus’ flesh is different from us. His flesh is spirit. This spirit is called in the Bible, the “Spirit of Christ” (Rom. 8:9). Thus, when Jesus said, “Eat My flesh,” He was really saying, Take and eat the spirit (what is an eternal substance). Also, eating His flesh is also same as drinking the water. If you understand everything until now, you would know what the next verse means: But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst (John 4:14).

Therefore, the meaning of, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5), should be interpreted as, No one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of the words of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Here, the water refers to the spirit (words of Jesus) and not the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit who has a personality, but the water has no personality. Jesus came “by water and blood” means that Jesus came as eternal life (1 John 5:6). Jesus also said, “The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63).

The body of Jesus Christ (the Word become flesh) and His words are spirit. This spirit is “a life-giving spirit,” which gives us eternal life (1 Cor. 15:45). “A life-giving spirit,” (1 Cor. 15:45) “water and blood,” (1 John 5:6) and “The words that I speak to you are spirit and they are life.” (John 6:63b) all have the same meaning.

Today, many people confuse “a life-giving spirit” with the Holy Spirit. The life-giving spirit is also called “the Spirit of Christ” or “the spirit of adoption.”

  • Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His (Romans 8:9)
  • For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’ (Romans 8:15 [NASB])

The life-giving spirit, the Spirit of Christ, and the spirit of adoption are all not referring to the Holy Spirit. As it was stated before, John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

In the same way, the Holy Spirit was with God and thus He is God. Yet, the Son of Man and the Holy Spirit are two different Persons. The Son of Man is the one who came by water and blood, the life-giving spirit. The Holy Spirit is the one who came upon the Son of Man in the Jordan River.

Receiving the spirit of Christ, the life-giving spirit, is the same as receiving the life-giving words. This life-giving spirit that came by water and blood touches the hearts of those who belong to Christ (in the way Paul was touched). Today, we have received eternal life and crossed over from death to life because of these words. Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live” (John 5:24-25).

Jesus is the Word become flesh; in other words, He came by blood and water. Although Jesus came as a Man, His body was of spirit-composition, not from the dust of the earth. Even though Pilate took His life in the flesh, he could not kill His spirit. Thus, Jesus was brought back to life from death. Man’s flesh is from dust, but Jesus’ flesh is the Word become flesh. Thus, the flesh of Jesus can solve man’s spiritual problem. In a deeper level, man’s spirit was created from God’s words. The difference is this: Jesus is the Word become flesh, and we are born again through these words of God.

Romans 8:15 [NASB] says, “For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’” The Holy Spirit is not the spirit of adoption. The spirit of adoption is the word of God given through His Son, Jesus Christ. We are born again by this word of God. His words are spirit and life (John 6:63). Jesus was not birthed by the word of God but He IS the Word become flesh. Instead, we are the ones who have been reborn through the word.

in LET US KNOW THE HOLY SPIRIT, Chapter 12 “The Word and the Holy Spirit” by Semuon