[Micah] Since the beginning of humanity, there have been conflicting views about God. One of the hottest topics, particularly after the time of Jesus Christ, was concerning the nature of God. Is He one being with different parts? Or is He multiple individual beings? Ancient Israel was monotheistic, and though some had a belief in two powers in heaven, the vast majority of Israelites took the Shema to mean that God was one in quantity. Fast forward a thousand years when Jesus Christ came onto the scene claiming to be the Son of God. The question about the nature of God came up again. How are we supposed to understand God if there is the Father in heaven, but also his Son here on Earth, both acting as God? Teachings of Jesus and the apostles were researched, and the consensus of post-1st-century Christians was that Jesus and the Father were both clearly God. They were one in unity and Spirit, rather than simply one person or will.

When Jesus left the earth and sent His Spirit to His disciples, people eventually had the same question. How does this shape our understanding of God? This is probably one of the most misunderstood attributes of God. Some believe it to be a mode or form God takes. Some believe it to be a distinct personhood. Some believe it's just the power of God. And some think it's just another name for Jesus. So who's right? Early theological councils, like the one that happened at Nicaea, shouldn't determine our doctrine. Scripture should. But the definitions used to determine personhood in those very councils when they tried to discuss whether Christ was a separate person than the Father might lead us to very interesting conclusions. For example, hypostasis means that a person must consist of individual identity, intellect, and transcendence. If you don't have these three things, you're not a person.

[Voiceover]: These things are just lights and clockwork.

[Micah] So let's take a look at these three. Identity. Christ equates the Spirit's presence with his own. Intellect. The Spirit doesn't speak of itself. Transcendence. It is God's Spirit. By their own definitions, the Spirit cannot be a person.

[Voiceover] Congratulations, you played yourself.

[Micah] Interestingly, if we asked this question apart from this topic, rarely would we come to the conclusion that a spirit is a separate individual. When I say, your encouragement really restored my spirit, I don't mean that a separate person inside of me is rejuvenated. I mean that I am. When someone says they have school spirit, it doesn't mean that their school is comprised of an individual person.

[Voiceover] I have contractually waived my birth identity and am now a man and student named Subway.

[Voiceover] I don't believe this.

[Micah] The Bible has two primary words for spirit, pneuma in the Greek and ruach in the Hebrew, meaning breath, wind, or life. This makes sense at the time that Jesus, speaking of the spirit he would send to his apostles, is asked, "How will you reveal yourself to us and not the world?" Like the wind, Christ would not visibly appear, but His very life would be bound up with ours as He dwelt in us. After this time, the New Testament writers continually and effortlessly interchange terms indicating the Spirit in us with Christ or God in us. As we strive to worship God as accurately as possible with all of our hearts, it is important that we recognize that He is, in fact, Spirit. Where the Spirit of God is, He is. It is his very presence, and because of that, it's an incredibly important aspect of God. It is how God dwells inside of us. It is the presence of God making our bodies living temples of his glory. It's the way in which God works His awesome power on the earth. And it is also important that we come to a truer understanding of what God is, a Father and Son building a family out of all who know Him and strive to worship Him in spirit and truth.