"When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say." (Luke 12:11-12)
How does the Holy Spirit teach what to say?
Jesus is speaking to his disciples about how to allow the Supreme Being to speak through them. Speaking what the Holy Spirit taught them to say means they were allowing the Holy Spirit to speak through them.For example, if a government leader's spokesperson is speaking on behalf of the government leader, they would first need to connect with that leader, and find out what the leader wanted them to say, right? Then once the spokesperson knows what the government leader wants them to say, when they say that, the government leader would effectively be speaking through the spokesperson.
This is the case for Jesus, who is instructing his students not to speak on Jesus' behalf, but to speak on behalf of the Holy Spirit. This also means that Jesus is also a spokesperson for the Holy Spirit.
But how do we know this is directed at Jesus' disciples?
Jesus began to speak first to his disciples... (Luke 12:1)And how do we know that Jesus is referring to God speaking through them? We can understand this from the version of this statement from the Book of Matthew:
"But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you." (Matthew 10:19-20)
Who exactly is the Holy Spirit?
The Supreme Being is the Ultimate Person. But He is also larger than even that. He is larger than what we might imagine Him as, but He is also a Personality - the Greatest Personality.For this reason, Jesus and Moses taught us to love the Supreme Being. We can only love someone who is a someone. One cannot love an impersonal void, or a statue.
Thus we find that Jesus taught that the Supreme Being is an individual - rather than some vague force that becomes divided. We can understand this plainly from the use of the phrase "Spirit of your Father" (Matt. 10:20) - translated from the Greek phrase, πνεῦμα τοῦ πατρὸς (pneuma sy pater).
But in Luke and elsewhere, the phrase "Holy Spirit" is being translated from the Greek phrase, ἅγιον πνεῦμα (haglos pneuma). But we can know that this is also describing an individual. The word πνεῦμα (pneuma), which means according to the lexicon - when speaking of a person - "the spirit, i.e. the vital principal by which the body is animated." It also means, "a spirit, i.e. a simple essence, devoid of all or at least all grosser matter, and possessed of the power of knowing, desiring, deciding, and acting."
As we review the uses of πνεῦμα (pneuma) in the New Testament we find that it is used numerous times when describing individual spirits (persons) exorcised by Jesus:
“Come out of this man, you impure spirit!” (Mark 5:8)We also find that Jesus used it to describe the inner person of each of us:
"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Mark 14:38)We also find that the word πνεῦμα (pneuma) was used to describe Jesus' spirit, as he left his physical body at the time of death:
And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. (Matthew 27:50)The bottom line is that Jesus' teachings describe each of us as essentially an individual spirit-person. We are not these physical bodies. We are the inner spirit - the person within - these temporary physical bodies. And at the time of death, this spirit-person leaves the physical body and the body begins to decompose.
And the reason we cannot see this spirit-person with our eyes? Because it is of another substance: A spiritual substance, which is on another plane of existence from the physical world perceived by the physical senses.
We know that the word πνεῦμα (pneuma) can also be used to describe the Supreme Being - when it is prefaced with the word ἅγιος (hagios).
But now Jesus is describing the Spirit of the Supreme Being - the "Spirit of your Father" - the real Holy Trinity.
This all means that each of us is of the same essence as the Supreme Being. We are His children - and we are made from Him. So we are of the same essence.
How are we the same essence as God?
We might compare this to a baby being born of a mother and father. Because the baby was produced through the combination of sperm and the mother's ova, the baby will be made of the same genetic stuff as the mother and father - in other words, skin, bones, tissues and so on.In the same way, because the Supreme Being is our Creator and He is spiritual in essence, we are also spiritual in essence. We are made of the same substance.
And just as we cannot see the spirit-person within with these physical eyes, we cannot see the Supreme Being. Why not?
Because these physical bodies - these physical senses and mind - were created specifically to separate us from our spiritual essence.
We might compare this to a sports mascot. A sports team might have a team mascot that is, say, a bear. In order to set up the mascot, the mascot person will put on the bear costume, and in order to create the full effect, the bear costume will cover the entire body of the person. If the person's human head or arms were sticking out of the costume then it would completely destroy the effect and the entertainment element of the mascot costume. So the real body underneath the mascot costume must be completely hidden from view.
In the same way, the only way we can truly become enmeshed in the physical world - and escape the spiritual realm - is if we cannot see our spiritual selves. So the Supreme Being created these costumes for us which cover our real selves, in order to allow us to escape the spiritual realm.
This is described symbolically in the Book of Genesis:
The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. (Genesis 3:21)Many have depicted this as Adam and Eve wearing animal skins or something. As if God went out and killed a couple of animals to clothe them or something - a bizarre concept.
The reality is the ancient oral tradition of the teachings passed down which became mistranslated and misinterpreted as the Book of Genesis taught that when we fell from the spiritual realm, the Supreme Being gave us physical bodies - "garments of skin" - and created the illusion that we are these physical bodies in order for us to be able to get away from God and forget His existence.
This is because at some point each of us rejected the Supreme Being - loving Him and serving Him - and became self-centered.
But now that we are in the physical world wearing these physical bodies ("garments of skin") it is not as if the Supreme Being is no longer around. It is not as if this is our world and He can't come here.
Can God expand Himself?
The Supreme Being is all around and within the physical world. We just cannot see Him with these eyes. God has expanded Himself throughout the physical universe. This is why Jesus describes the Holy Spirit as being available to each of his disciples.We may not be able to fathom this with our physical mind because our senses have never seen this. But He nonetheless has the power to expand Himself infinitely - even though as Jesus clearly teaches that He remains a person - the Supreme Person - as Jesus said, "the Spirit of your Father."
The phrase "your Father" taken from τοῦ πατρὸς - is a personal designation. Not only does "Father" denote an individual Creator, but "your" indicates possession. We belong to the Supreme Being. We belong to Him because He created us.
Why did God create us?
To share life with Him. To serve Him and exchange a loving relationship with Him. But because love requires freedom, we have the eternal choice to love Him or not. This is clearly taught by Jesus, who instructed his students that if they wanted to become fulfilled and happy, they need to come to know and love the Supreme Being:“ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’" (Luke 10:27)
