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 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.
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."
God the ‘Son’ in the Old Testament?
Most of us know that the distinctive difference between Christians and Jews is that Christians believe in the deity of Christ whereas Jews do not, some contending that the deity of Christ, God the Son and the trinity were doctrines not revealed till the New Testament. This program begins a series of episodes explicating common questions surrounding these doctrines, highlighting the pertinent Old Testament Scriptures that point to the fuller revelation of the godhead in the Christian faith. This episode begins with Psalm 2, noting that the Messiah is called "my Son," and is "begotten" in time, "today I have begotten you." If Christ is the ETERNAL son of God, how can He be begotten "today?" This episode demonstrates from several Scriptures that God the Father "begat" God the Son upon Christ's accession as king. Luke cites the resurrection as the fulfillment of Psalm 2: "God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it also written in the second Psalm, 'You are my Son; today I have begotten you.'" (Acts 13:33) While the average Jew living prior to Christ probably did not consider God's future Messiah as "God the Son," much less one of the three persons comprising the Trinity, he nevertheless hoped in the future absolute rule of God's Messiah, as Christ's final entry into Jerusalem suggests. Together with the distinctive elements of Judaism introduced in the last 2 lessons (justifying faith in God's provision and God's dealing with man through a perfect representative), hope in God's Messiah, make up the core of Old Testament Judaism, which naturally carried over into New Testament Christianity.
Did Abraham See Christ?
This episode focuses narrowly on the explanation of John 8:56, in which Christ notes that Abraham "rejoiced to see My day and was glad." The explanation is very pertinent to the question, "Do Jews and Christians believe in the same God?" For if the father of Judaism, Abraham, actually saw the pre-incarnate Christ, in the context of making a covenant with Yahweh, then faith in God the Father is intimately linked with God the Son. Genesis 15:6-18 describes the covenant that God made with Abraham. When two parties made a covenant both would walk in between animals split in half, pronouncing blessings and curses for keeping the covenant. Abraham did not walk in between the animals but instead saw a "smoking oven and a flaming torch." When interpreted through the words of Christ, that Abraham SAW Christ's day and was glad, Abraham evidently saw his perfect representative, Christ, making a covenant with God the Father--good reason to rejoice. Abraham is described as "ungodly" in Romans 4:3, but is commended because he believes in God who justifies the ungodly. The Abrahamic covenant then anticipates the New Covenant that Christ instituted, in which ungodly men are justified by faith in Him. So even at the very beginning of Judaism, justification by faith in Christ, albeit not explicit, affirms the basis by which sinners approach a holy God, through a perfect representative. With respect to the question then, one can certainly say that Christians and the first Jew (Abraham) believed in the same God.
Who was the God of Jesus?
"This initial episode sets the stage for the question by asking ""who was the God of Jesus?"" All Jews were monotheists, daily reciting the shema, ""Here o Israel, the Lord Our God, the Lord is One."" Christ, a good Jew, affirmed this core belief of Judaism, but identified this God as His own Father, even claiming that He was the God of the Old Testament, citing the Name of God made known to Moses, ""I am that I am."" [YHWH} (Exodus 3:14, John 8:58) So, while the New Testament affirms that Jesus' God was Yahweh, it also describes the Trinitarian nature of the One God, Jesus being God the Son. Both God the Father and God the Son are one is essence, but distinct persons of the Godhead. John 1:1 consequently affirms the oneness of God described in the shema, but notes distinctions within the godhead, ""In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God."" Jews prior to Christ only had glimpses of this Trinitarian God in the Old Testament, for the explicit revelation of the godhead only came with the incarnate Christ, who ""explained"" the Father. (John 1:18)
The Trinity Revealed in Salvation
This episode unpacks the role of each member of the Trinity in leading believers towards the beatific vision. In addition to uncovering the glory of Christ, the Holy Spirit reveals the thoughts of God the Father. (1 Cor. 2:11) The next verse states, "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we many know the things freely given to us by God." (12) Of course, the greatest gift "freely given to us by God the Father is Christ. (John 3:16) The Holy Spirit reveals Christ and the thoughts of the Father and Christ has "explained the Father." (John 1:18) That every member of the Trinity is united in uncovering the Godhead points to the inescapable conclusion that holistic salvation is all about the knowledge of God.