User:KeyStroke/Personal Sandbox

The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity and the means by which man(kind) relates to God in the Dispensation of Grace (John 16:7-15).

The word translated into "Spirit" in the Bible has its root meaning as "breath" or "wind". [1] It was taken that the breath of an individual was the essence of their life, as Shakespeare aptly summarized "words be made of breath, and breath of life" Hamlet Act 3, Scene 4.

It was by the Holy Spirit that God, initially, acted during the six days of creation, and how God caused the lifeless form of man to become a living soul (Genesis 2:7). Therefore, man(kind) was brought to life, by the indwelling of the Spirit of God, so we are created to have a relationship to God via the Spirit.

As the Spirit of God is the life of God (a.k.a. the Spirit of Life) it is reasonable to suppose that Adam was meant to live eternally. However, this did not occur due to original sin.

Man(kind) was separated from the Holy Spirit (given at creation) and fell from grace due to the sin of Adam and Eve. We lost the "connection" with God that we had (through our spirit to His Spirit), because Gods promise to Adam, that Adam would die the very day that he ate of the fruit (Genesis 2:17) did come true that very day. The day Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit their human spirit was separated from Gods Spirit, causing spiritual death.

As the Spirit of God is eternal, we receive Eternal Life by the receipt of the Holy Spirit (2nd Corinthians 3:6), this being the life-breath of God, himself. The receipt of the Holy Spirit is, then, the event that causes the second birth (John 3:5-7).

Matthew Henry Complete Commentary on Matthew Chapter 7 Verse 6

Our zeal against sin must be guided by discretion, and we must not go about to give instructions, counsels, and rebukes, much less comforts, to hardened scorners, to whom it will certainly do no good, but who will be exasperated and enraged at us.

Throw a pearl to a swine, and he will resent it, as if you threw a stone at him; reproofs will be called reproaches, as they were (Lu. 11:45; Jer. 6:10), therefore give not to dogs and swine (unclean creatures) holy things.

Note, Good counsel and reproof are a holy thing, and a pearl: they are ordinances of God, they are precious; as an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is the wise reprover (Prov. 25:12), and a wise reproof is like an excellent oil (Ps. 141:5); it is a tree of life (Prov. 3:18).

Among the generation of the wicked, there are some that have arrived at such a pitch of wickedness, that they are looked upon as dogs and swine; they are impudently and notoriously vile; they have so long walked in the way of sinners, that they have sat down in the seat of the scornful[2]; they professedly hate and despise instructionProverbs 1:7, and set it at defiance, so that they are irrecoverably and irreclaimably wicked; they return with the dog to his vomitProv 26:11, and with the sow to her wallowing in the mire2nd Peter 2:22.

Reproofs of instruction are ill bestowed upon such, and expose the reprover to all the contempt and mischief that may be expected from dogs and swine. One can expect no other than that they will trample the reproofs under their feet, in scorn of them, and rage against them; for they are impatient of control and contradiction; and they will turn again and rend the reprovers; rend their good names with their revilings, return them wounding words for their healing ones; rend them with persecution; Herod rent John Baptist for his faithfulness. See here what is the evidence of men’s being dogs and swine. Those are to be reckoned such, who hate reproofs and reprovers, and fly in the face of those who, in kindness to their souls, show them their sin and danger. These sin against the remedy; who shall heal and help those that will not be healed and helped? It is plain that God has determined to destroy such. 2 Chr. 25:16.

The rule here given is applicable to the distinguishing, sealing ordinances of the gospel; which must not be prostituted to those who are openly wicked and profane, lest holy things be thereby rendered contemptible, and unholy persons be thereby hardened.