This episode addresses some of the "positive" attributes of the Holy Spirit, all of which presume the personhood of the Spirit. As stated in previous episodes, Jews and Christians disagree over the Spirit as a distinct person in the godhead. The last program emphasized that salvation depends on the personal attributes of the Spirit. Fellowship of the Spirit (2 Corinthians 13:14) is the natural bond that develops among all believers who are born of the Spirit and placed into the body of Christ by that very same Spirit. They connect based on the Spirit's work of conforming them into the image of Christ, and consequently genuine fellowship of the Spirit is possible: "one body and one Spirit..one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all." (Ephesians 4:4-5) This mutual partaking of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4) and the "fellowship of the Spirit" makes possible the "mind of Christ" that eagerly and unselfishly gives based on this overflowing Spirit. (Philippians 2:1-2) The fellowship of the Spirit connects the millions of Holy Spirit-dwelt temples as they aim for the mind of Christ. John similarly concludes in 1 John 1:7: "as we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another.." The "fellowship of the Spirit' then is clearly a manifestation of the personality of the Holy Spirit.
The Personhood of the Triune God Really Matters
This episode spells out the superior age of the Spirit inaugurated by Christ, and it is all predicated on the personality of the Holy Spirit which Jews deny. Christ contrasted the best of the prior age in the person of John the Baptist with "the least in the kingdom of God." The least among partakers of the New Covenant in Christ are greater than the best of the Old covenant. (Matthew 11:11) Christ inaugurated the New Covenant in His blood, and the Holy Spirit applies the Covenant to the world, convicting people of sin, righteousness and judgment leading to repentance and faith in Christ. (John 16:8-11)(1 Corinthians 12:3) When one is subsequently born again, he partakes of the divine nature, becoming a temple of the very personal Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:4) Conviction, repentance, faith and regeneration all involve the PERSONAL role of the Holy Spirit. It naturally follows that rejection of the PERSON and role of the Holy Spirit, who applies the New Covenant of Christ to the unregenerate, results in condemnation. No one comes to the Father except through Christ (John 14:6), and no one calls Jesus Lord except through the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:3 Salvation then presumes the personal involvement of each member of the Trinity aimed at reconciling the world back to that Triune God. Isaiah 48:16 says "the Lord God has sent Me [the Messiah}, and His Spirit." The singular essence and salvific purpose of the godhead consequently requires that rejection of either the Son or the Spirit MEANS rejection of the Father who sent them. For this reason, Christians and Jews (who reject Christ and the Holy Spirit) do not believe in the same God.
The Holy Spirit is Clearly a Person
This episode expounds on the testimony of the personhood of the Holy Spirit from the New Testament. While Jews affirm the deity of the Holy Spirit, they deny that the Spirit is a distinct person of the godhead, mostly claiming that references to the Holy Spirit are simply manifestations of God. But this "manifestation" rubric doesn't adequately do justice to the clear personal qualities attributed to the Holy Spirit, who can be lied to (Acts 5:3), tested (Acts 5:9), resisted (Acts 7:51), insulted (Hebrews 10:29), grieved (Ephesians 4:30), and blasphemed (Matthew 12:32). Rejection of the distinct personhood of the Holy Spirit therefore means that Jews do not believe in the same God as Christians.
The Trinity Revealed in the Old Testament
In addition to rehashing several Old Testament passages on the personhood of the Holy Spirit, this episode cites three passages from Isaiah where every member of the godhead is present in the same verse. Isaiah 42:1 declares "I [God the Father] have put my Spirit[God the Holy Spirit] upon Him[God the Son]." A godhead without distinctions makes no sense, and Isaiah 48:16 also bears this out, "And the Lord God has sent Me, and His Spirit." The "Me" refers to the Messiah, the suffering Servant, who together with the Holy Spirit, are sent by God the Father. Finally, in a passage quoted by Christ Himself (Isaiah 61:1) (Luke 4:18-19), Isaiah declares, "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me.." All three persons of the Trinity are present, and the Christian doctrine of 3 persons comprising one God finds its roots solidly in the Old Testament.
The Personhood of the Holy Spirit
This episode surveys references in the Old Testament to the Holy Spirit, ultimately arguing that many can not be explained by appealing to the personification of God's creative activity. Instead of finding distinctive persons in the Godhead, Jews typically understand references to God's Spirit as poetic expressions of God's working in creation, as seen in Gen 1:2 , where the Spirit of God hovering over the waters signals the beginning of creation week. The personification argument is however unconvincingly in light of several verses that ascribe indisputable qualities of personhood to the Spirit's activity. The Spirit grieves (Isaiah 63:10) and instructs (Nehemiah 9:20), and Micah even queries if He is "impatient." (Micah 2:7) Some verses draw distinctions within the Godhead: prophets speak the words of the Lord that are sent "by His Spirit." (Zechariah 7:12) Interpreting the "Spirit" of God as merely the personification of God's power or creative activity doesn't square with descriptions of personhood and the Spirit's apparent distinct presence within the godhead. The Biblical evidence of the personhood of the Holy Spirit is of course very relevant to the question, whether Jews and Christians "believe" in the same god.
When the Son Becomes Judge
This episode unpacks John 5:22-24, in which all judgment has been given to the Son by God the Father. And verse 23 specifically says that God sent the Son. Jews who reject Christ as God's Son and Messiah therefore reject the Father's sending of the Son. The consequences couldn't be more dire, since God the Father has given all judgment to the Son. According to John 3:36, "whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on them." This rejecting of the Father's sending of the Son invalidates any Jew's claim that he has the Father as his God: "No one who denies the Son, has the Father.." (1 John 5:23) Moreover, the wrath and judgment of the Son remain on all who reject the Son: "Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, for His wrath may soon be kindled.." (Psalm 2:12) Jews and Christians therefore do not believe in the same God.
Jesus: the Lord of Jews
This episode elaborates on the most pivotal event in history, the resurrection, and the appropriate Scriptural response. The resurrection of Christ signaled, according to Peter, that Christ was the exalted Lord spoken of in Psalm 110:1. Peter declared in his first sermon at Pentecost that Christ rose from the dead and is seated at the right hand of God. He then cites as proof Psalm 110:1, "The Lord said to my Lord: 'Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.'" The significance of the resurrection? "God has made Him both Lord and Christ.." (Acts 2:33-36) Christ is the exalted Lord seated at the right of God, and the resurrection is the proof. When asked by the Jewish crowd what their response should be, he said they needed to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ." Identification with Christ, the Lord of David, indicates one believes in the God revealed to the Jews in the Old Testament. And Jewish failure to come under His Lordship means all "Jewishness" is forfeited. (Acts 3:23, (1 John 2:23) Consequently, Jews who reject the Lordship of Christ do not believe in the same God as Christians and Jews faithful to the God of Abraham, Moses and David.
What Do ‘Real’ Jews Believe about God?
This episode reiterates the main theme of the last several episodes, that belief in Christ as the Messiah is essential if one were to consider himself/herself a true Jew. Almost all early Christians (30-42 A.D.) were Jewish, and they would not have maintained that their belief in Christ was a peculiarly Christian contribution, as opposed to the god of the Jews. The God of Abraham and the God of Moses pointed to the second person of the Trinity. The New Testament authors and Christ Himself affirmed that true Jewishness required accepting Christ as the Messiah, Paul even arguing that physical circumcision without the circumcision of the Spirit accounted for nothing, and one's claim to be a Jew was spurious. (Romans 2:28-29, 1 Corinthians 7:19) The last part of the episode addresses the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity. Ezekiel had predicted that future believers would receive the Spirit and consequently keep God's law. (Ezekiel 36:27) Christ spoke of this regeneration as necessary for entering into the kingdom of God. (John 3:6)
True Jews Believe in Christ
The series so far has mostly emphasized the continuity of the Old and New Testaments regarding belief in the one God revealed in the Scriptures. This and subsequent episodes however press home the discontinuity between the God of the Jews and the God of Christians. This discontinuity becomes obvious in the gospels where Christ's messiahship, deity and exclusive mediatorial role are affirmed. Christ said that "all things have been handed over to Me by My Father." (Matthew 11:27) He told the Jews "unless you believe that I am He (a declaration of his messiahship and deity), you will die in your sins." (John 8:24) John later declares that "whoever denies the Son does not have the Father." (1 John 2:23) Once the Son is raised from the dead, faith in Christ as the divine Messiah and only mediator between God and man is absolutely necessary for salvation. Faith in Christ is moreover the natural response of any who are TRUE sons of Abraham and Moses. Abraham saw Christ's day and was glad. (John 8:56) Moses prophesied of the coming Messiah and made obedience to His authority the very essence of true Judaism. (Deuteronomy18:18-19) Peter said that any Jew who rejected Christ would be "cut off from His people." (Acts 3:23, NIV) A fair conclusion of all these Scriptures is that Jews who reject Christ are not children of Abraham or true Jews, and Christians and Jews do NOT believe in the same God.
The Incarnation Changes Everything
This episode summarizes the major conclusions of the previous week, noting that the deity of Christ the Messiah was affirmed in the Old Testament. This episode addresses the incarnation of the Messiah in Isaiah 9:6, as well as His full deity. He is described as "mighty God" and "everlasting Father." Christ Himself told Phillip that He was of the same substance as the Father, declaring "anyone who has seen me has seen the Father." (John 14:9) And while the Messiah was born in time 2,000 years ago, He nevertheless preexisted "from the days of eternity" as the second person of the Trinity (Micah 5:2) While the average Jew prior to Christ did not grasp the Trinitarian nature of the one God or the deity of Christ, he was nevertheless expected to affirm the oneness of God (see the shema), rejecting all other so-called gods. The answer to the question "do Jews and Christians believe in the same God?" largely depends on a Jew's placement in time vis-a-vis Christ. Once Christ comes, legitimate belief in the Father requires acknowledgment of the Son. This is the inescapable conclusion of 1 John 2:23, "whoever denies the Son does not have the Father."