Bring what exactly? Not sure what you mean here.
No, I did not say "the Holy Spirit." I said the prophecy of Joel that "God would pour out His spirit upon all flesh", confirmed by Peter at Pentecost. You have assumed that I meant the Holy Spirit...
Yes, this is true, when you speak of the spirit poured out at Pentecost, I take you to mean the Holy Spirit.
Acts 2:4-8
4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
But you are saying that the spirit given on Pentecost was not the Holy Spirit. But it was God's spirit, eh?
which is not far from the truth, if you can receive it. But for the sake of possible confusion that a Holy God could be unholy, I did not suggest such...because we had not gone that far in the discussion.
So . . . what are you saying about this Spirit given at Pentecost? God's Spirit? Or not? Holy? Or not?
Please be clear.
If we can first agree that all power in heaven and earth belongs to God, or that "All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made", then perhaps we could unpack the evil from the good, rather than you lumping them together and assuming that all spirits from God are Holy, when obviously they are not.
You are the one saying that the spirit given at Pentecost causes evil men to flourish in their evil.
I see that as a most extreme contradiction.
Of course God made everything, and declared everything good. But God does not declare sin good, rather He condemns it.
So, indeed, the Holy Spirit goes forth sent by Christ, but it is a two-edged sword, and you have not considered that the other cuts contrary to what is Holy. Nonetheless, God works all things together for good for those who love Him.
What does this mean? It sounds like just another way of saying the Holy Spirit empowers sin. A defense of your assertion, but no Scripture that teaches this.
But that all just scratches the surface. If a policeman speeds to catch a speeder, who is it that has broken the law? But now you assume that I have said that God has broken the law of holiness for doing the same. But He has not, no more than a policemen who speeds to catch a speeder.
You said the Spirit given at Pentecost causes the evil to flourish in their evil.
This is like saying the policeman put his foot down on the speeder's gas pedal.
You're changing what you are saying here.
A man who drives over the speed limit to conduct lawful business is not speeding, example, the policeman you've mentioned, the ambulance driver, and the private citizen in a private car rushing someone in an emergency to the hospital.
But it most certainly violates God's holiness to empower the sinner to sinner, to super-charge his sinfulness by the power of His Holy Spirit. I still maintain this is blasphemy, at least in my mind.
So then, what is legal or righteous, is not determined by its source (in this case God), but by intent. God is good. Thus, if the Holy Spirit is indeed holy, He holds no evil intent, but does the will of God which is holy either way, whether darkness or light, whether flesh or spirit, whether wickedness or righteousness. But here again, do not misunderstand...by this same means "Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief."
God knew that evil men would kill His Son. And God wanted His Son killed as the perfect sacrifice to save man from his sin.
But God did not make those men kill Jesus, and holds them responsible. Do you see the distinction?
You make God the only motive force in the universe, and everything that happens happens because God caused it to happen.
But the Bible teaches that God gives away bits of sovereignty, the ability to choose, and those choices that WE make have consequences that we garner for ourselves.
God says, choose this day whom you will serve. God says, repent - stop being a sinner. Because if we do not, He will hold US responsible. It will be our doing.
Much love!
mark