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G15. Blaspheming God vs. Receiving Messiah & the Holy Spirit.    [Make a Comment]

We are not to blaspheme God; instead we are to receive Him via Messiah & the Holy Spirit.

This precept is derived from His Word (blessed be He):

The following captions follow:

Key Scriptures

CURSING GOD

Exodus 22:27(28) (Maimonides RN60)
You are not to curse God, and you are not to curse a leader of your people.

Leviticus 24:14-15 (Maimonides RN60; Chinuch C70)
Take the man who cursed [God] outside the camp, have everyone who heard him lay their hands on his head, and have the entire community stone him. Then tell the people of Isra'el, 'Whoever curses his God will bear the consequences of his sin'

BLASPHEMING GOD

Leviticus 24:16
... and whoever blasphemes the name of ADONAI must be put to death; the entire community must stone him. The foreigner as well as the citizen is to be put to death if he blasphemes the Name.

1 Timothy 1:12-13
...and I thank the one who has given me strength, the Messiah Yeshua, our Lord, that he considered me trustworthy enough to put me in his service, even though I used to be a man who blasphemed and persecuted and was arrogant! But I received mercy because I had acted in unbelief, not understanding what I was doing.

Revelation 13:4-6
They worshipped the dragon, because he had given his authority to the beast; and they worshipped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast? Who can fight against it?" It was given a mouth speaking arrogant blasphemies; and it was given authority to act for forty-two months. So it opened its mouth in blasphemies against God to insult his name and his Sh'khinah, and those living in heaven

BLASPHEMING, CURSING OR OPPOSING THE HOLY SPIRIT

Matthew 12:30-32
Those who are not with me are against me, and those who do not gather with me are scattering. Because of this, I tell you that people will be forgiven any sin and blasphemy, but blaspheming the Ruach HaKodesh will not be forgiven. One can say something against the Son of Man and be forgiven; but whoever keeps on speaking against the Ruach HaKodesh will never be forgiven, neither in the 'olam hazeh nor in the 'olam haba.

Mark 3:28-30
Yes! I tell you that people will be forgiven all sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; however, someone who blasphemes against the Ruach HaKodesh never has forgiveness but is guilty of an eternal sin. For they had been saying, "He has an unclean spirit in him."

Luke 12:8-10
Moreover, I tell you, whoever acknowledges me in the presence of others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge in the presence of God's angels. But whoever disowns me before others will be disowned before God's angels. Also, everyone who says something against the Son of Man will have it forgiven him; but whoever has blasphemed the Ruach HaKodesh will not be forgiven.

RECEIVING YESHUA & HIS MINISTRY

John 1:1-14
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing made had being. In him was life, and the life was the light of mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not suppressed it. There was a man sent from God whose name was Yochanan. He came to be a testimony, to bear witness concerning the light; so that through him, everyone might put his trust in God and be faithful to him. He himself was not that light; no, he came to bear witness concerning the light. This was the true light, which gives light to everyone entering the world. He was in the world- the world came to be through him - yet the world did not know him. He came to his own homeland, yet his own people did not receive him. But to as many as did receive him, to those who put their trust in his person and power, he gave the right to become children of God, not because of bloodline, physical impulse or human intention, but because of God. The Word became a human being and lived with us, and we saw his Sh'khinah, the Sh'khinah of the Father's only Son, full of grace and truth.

John 3:14-16
Just as Moshe lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that everyone who trusts in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only and unique Son, so that everyone who trusts in him may have eternal life, instead of being utterly destroyed.

John 3:36
Whoever trusts in the Son has eternal life. But whoever disobeys the Son will not see that life but remains subject to Gods wrath.'

John 14:6
Yeshua said, "I AM the Way - and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through me."

Acts 4:12
There is salvation in no one else! For there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by whom we must be saved!

Acts 16:30-31
Then, leading them outside, he [the jailer] said, "Men, what must I do to be saved?" They said, "Trust in the Lord Yeshua, and you will be saved - you and your household!"

2 Corinthians 5:17-19
Therefore, if anyone is united with the Messiah, he is a new creation - the old has passed; look, what has come is fresh and new! And it is all from God, who through the Messiah has reconciled us to himself and has given us the work of that reconciliation, which is that God in the Messiah was reconciling mankind to himself, not counting their sins against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

1 John 2:23-25
Everyone who denies the Son is also without the Father, but the person who acknowledges the Son has the Father as well. Let what you heard from the beginning remain in you. If what you heard from the beginning remains in you, you will also remain in union with both the Son and the Father. And this is what he has promised us: eternal life.

RECEIVING THE HOLY SPIRIT

Joel 3:1-2(2:28-29)
After this, I will pour out my Spirit on all humanity. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions; and also on male and female slaves in those days I will pour out my Spirit.

John 7:39
(Now he said this about the Spirit, whom those who trusted in him were to receive later - the Spirit had not yet been given, because Yeshua had not yet been glorified.)

John 14:16-17
... and I will ask the Father, and he will give you another comforting Counselor like me, the Spirit of Truth, to be with you forever. The world cannot receive him, because it neither sees nor knows him. You know him, because he is staying with you and will be united with you.

John 20:21-22
"Shalom aleikhem!" Yeshua repeated. "Just as the Father sent me, I myself am also sending you." Having said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Ruach HaKodesh!"

Acts 2:1-4
The festival of Shavu'ot arrived, and the believers all gathered together in one place. Suddenly there came a sound from the sky like the roar of a violent wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then they saw what looked like tongues of fire, which separated and came to rest on each one of them. They were all filled with the Ruach HaKodesh and began to talk in different languages, as the Spirit enabled them to speak.

Supportive Scriptures - Cursing God

Revelation 16:9-11
People were burned by the intense heat; yet they cursed the name of God, who had the authority over these plagues, instead of turning from their sins to give him glory. The fifth one poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom grew dark. People gnawed on their tongues from the pain, yet they cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and sores, and did not turn from their sinful deeds.

Revelation 16:18-21
There were flashes of lightning, voices and peals of thunder; and there was a massive earthquake, such as has never occurred since mankind has been on earth, so violent was the earthquake. The great city was split into three parts, the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered Bavel the Great and made her drink the wine from the cup of his raging fury. Every island fled, and no mountains were to be found. And huge seventy-pound hailstones fell on people from the sky. But the people cursed God for the plague of hail, that it was such a terrible plague.

Supportive Scriptures - Blaspheming God

Isaiah 37:23
Whom have you taunted and insulted? Against whom have you raised your voice and haughtily lifted your eyes? The Holy One of Isra'el!

Isaiah 52:5
"So now, what should I do here," asks ADONAI, "since my people were carried off for nothing? Their oppressors are howling," says ADONAI, "and my name is always being insulted, daily."

Isaiah 65:6-7
"See, it is written before me; I will not be silent until I repay them; I will repay them to the full, your own crimes and those of your ancestors together," says ADONAI. "They offered incense on the mountains and insulted me on the hills. First I will measure out their wages and then repay them in full."

Ezekiel 20:27
Therefore, human being, speak to the house of Isra'el; tell them that Adonai ELOHIM says, 'Moreover, your ancestors blasphemed me by breaking faith with me in still another way'

Hosea 7:13-14
Woe to them! for they have strayed from me. Destruction to them! for they have wronged me. Am I supposed to redeem them, when they have spoken lies against me? They have not cried out to me from their hearts, even though they wail on their beds. They assemble themselves for grain and wine, yet turn away from me.

Malachi 3:13-14
"You have spoken strongly against me," says ADONAI. "Yet you say, 'How have we spoken against you?' By saying, 'There is no point in serving God. What good is it to obey his orders or to walk about as mourners before ADONAI-Tzva'ot?'"

Psalm 139:19-20
God, if only you would kill off the wicked! Men of blood, get away from me! They invoke your name for their crafty schemes; yes, your enemies misuse it.

Romans 2:23-24
You who take such pride in Torah, do you, by disobeying the Torah, dishonor God? - as it says in the Tanakh, "For it is because of you that God's name is blasphemed by the Goyim."

Supportive Scriptures - More Examples of Speaking Against God

Isaiah 40:27
Why do you complain, Ya'akov; why do you say, Isra'el, "My way is hidden from ADONAI, my rights are ignored by my God"?

Jeremiah 20:7-8
Then I said, "Oh, Adonai ELOHIM! Surely you have sadly deceived this people and Yerushalayim by saying, 'You will have peace,' when the sword is at our very throats!"

Jeremiah 20:7-8
You fooled me, ADONAI; I have been your dupe. You overpowered me, and you have prevailed. All day long I'm a laughingstock; everyone makes fun of me. Whenever I speak, I have to cry out; I shout, "Violence!" and "Destruction!" Thus the word of ADONAI becomes for me the cause of reproach and derision all day!

Ezekiel 8:12
Then he said to me, "Human being, did you see what the leaders of the house of Isra'el are doing in the dark, each one in the room of his own carved image, because they say, 'ADONAI can't see us; ADONAI has left the land.'?"

Ezekiel 9:9
Then he said to me, "The wickedness of the house of Isra'el and Y'hudah is enormous, the land is full of blood, and the city is full of justice denied; because they say, 'ADONAI has left the land, ADONAI doesn't see.'"

Ezekiel 18:25
So now you say, 'ADONAI's way isnt fair.' Listen (house of Isra'el! Is it my way that is unfair? or your ways that are unfair?')

Ezekiel 33:17
Now your people say, 'Adonai's way isn't fair!' But it is their way, theirs, that isn't fair!'

Psalm 10:13
Why does the wicked despise God and say in his heart, "It won't be held against me"?

Psalm 73:9-11
They set their mouths against heaven; their tongues swagger through the earth. Therefore his people return here and [thoughtlessly] suck up that whole cup of water. Then they ask, "How does God know? Does the Most High really have knowledge?"

Psalm 78:19
Yes, they spoke against God by asking, "Can God spread a table in the desert?"

Psalm 94:6-7
They kill widows and strangers and murder the fatherless. They say, Yah isn't looking; the God of Ya'akov won't notice."'

Job 34:5-9
For Iyov says, 'I am in the right, but God is denying me justice. Against justice, I am considered a liar; my wound is mortal, though I committed no crime.' Is there a man like Iyov, who drinks in scoffing like water, who keeps company with evildoers and goes with wicked men, since he thinks, 'It profits a person nothing to be in accord with God'?

Job 34:35-37
Iyov is speaking without thinking; his words lack discernment. I wish Iyov would be kept on trial forever, because he answers like wicked men. For now to his sin he adds rebellion; he [mockingly] claps his hands among us and keeps adding to his words against God.

See also: Job 15:13, 25-26; 19:6-7; 21:14; 22:12-14, 17; 30:21.

Supportive Scriptures - Blaspheming, Cursing or Opposing the Holy Spirit

Acts 7:51
Stiffnecked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You continually oppose the Ruach HaKodesh! You do the same things your fathers did!

Supportive Scriptures Yeshua Accused of Blasphemy

Matthew 26:62-66
The cohen hagadol stood up and said, "Have you nothing to say to the accusation these men are making?" Yeshua remained silent. The cohen hagadol said to him, "I put you under oath! By the living God, tell us if you are the Mashiach, the Son of God!" Yeshua said to him, "The words are your own. But I tell you that one day you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of HaG'vurah and coming on the clouds of heaven." At this, the cohen hagadol tore his robes. "Blasphemy!" he said. "Why do we still need witnesses? You heard him blaspheme! What is your verdict?" "Guilty," they answered. "He deserves death!"

Mark 2:1-7
After a while, Yeshua returned to K'far-Nachum. The word spread that he was back, and so many people gathered around the house that there was no longer any room, not even in front of the door. While he was preaching the message to them, four men came to him carrying a paralyzed man. They could not get near Yeshua because of the crowd, so they stripped the roof over the place where he was, made an opening, and lowered the stretcher with the paralytic lying on it. Seeing their trust, Yeshua said to the paralyzed man, "Son, your sins are forgiven." Some Torah-teachers sitting there thought to themselves, "How can this fellow say such a thing? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins except God?" (see also, Luke 5:17-2102Sep15

John 10:31-33
Once again the Judeans picked up rocks in order to stone him. Yeshua answered them, "You have seen me do many good deeds that reflect the Father's power; for which one of these deeds are you stoning me?" The Judeans replied, "We are not stoning you for any good deed, but for blasphemy - because you, who are only a man, are making yourself out to be God."

Supportive Scriptures - Receiving Yeshua & His Ministry

Isaiah 53:4-8
In fact, it was our diseases he [Yeshua] bore, our pains from which he suffered; yet we regarded him as punished, stricken and afflicted by God. But he was wounded because of our crimes, crushed because of our sins; the disciplining that makes us whole fell on him, and by his bruises we are healed. We all, like sheep, went astray; we turned, each one, to his own way; yet ADONAI laid on him the guilt of all of us. Though mistreated, he was submissive - he did not open his mouth. Like a lamb led to be slaughtered, like a sheep silent before its shearers, he did not open his mouth. After forcible arrest and sentencing, he was taken away; and none of his generation protested his being cut off from the land of the living for the crimes of my people, who deserved the punishment themselves.

Matthew 7:21-23
Not everyone who says to me [Yeshua], 'Lord, Lord!' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, only those who do what my Father in heaven wants. On that Day, many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord! Didn't we prophesy in your name? Didn't we expel demons in your name? Didn't we perform many miracles in your name?' Then I will tell them to their faces, 'I never knew you! Get away from me, you workers of lawlessness!'

Matthew 16:16
Shim'on Kefa answered, "You [Yeshua] are the Mashiach, the Son of the living God."

Mark 1:8
I have immersed you in water, but he will immerse you in the Ruach HaKodesh.

Mark 2:28
So the Son of Man [Yeshua] is Lord even of Shabbat.

Mark 16:15-16
Then he said to them, "As you go throughout the world, proclaim the Good News to all creation. Whoever trusts and is immersed will be saved; whoever does not trust will be condemned."

Luke 1:32-33
He [Yeshua] will be great, he will be called Son of Ha'Elyon. ADONAI, God, will give him the throne of his forefather David; and he will rule the House of Ya'akov forever - there will be no end to his Kingdom.

Luke 24:45-47
Then he opened their minds, so that they could understand the Tanakh, telling them, "Here is what it says: the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day; and in his name repentance leading to forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed to people from all nations, starting with Yerushalayim."

Luke 24:49
Now I am sending forth upon you what my Father promised, so stay here in the city until you have been equipped with power from above.

John 1:33
I myself did not know who he was, but the one who sent me to immerse in water said to me, 'The one on whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining, this is the one who immerses in the Ruach HaKodesh.'

John 3:3-8
"Yes, indeed," Yeshua answered him, "I tell you that unless a person is born again from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God." Nakdimon said to him, "How can a grown man be 'born'? Can he go back into his mother's womb and be born a second time?" Yeshua answered, "Yes, indeed, I tell you that unless a person is born from water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. What is born from the flesh is flesh, and what is born from the Spirit is spirit. Stop being amazed at my telling you that you must be born again from above! The wind blows where it wants to, and you hear its sound, but you dont know where it comes from or where it's going. That's how it is with everyone who has been born from the Spirit."

John 5:24-30
Yes, indeed! I tell you that whoever hears what I am saying and trusts the One who sent me has eternal life - that is, he will not come up for judgment but has already crossed over from death to life! Yes, indeed! I tell you that there is coming a time - in fact, it's already here - when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who listen will come to life. For just as the Father has life in himself, so he has given the Son life to have in himself. Also he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Don't be surprised at this; because the time is coming when all who are in the grave will hear his voice and come out - those who have done good to a resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to a resurrection of judgment. I can't do a thing on my own. As I hear, I judge; and my judgment is right; because I don't seek my own desire, but the desire of the one who sent me.

John 6:44-45
No one can come to me unless the Father - the One who sent me - draws him. And I will raise him up on the Last Day. It is written in the Prophets, 'They will all be taught by ADONAI.' Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me.

John 14:12-27
Yes, indeed! I tell you that whoever trusts in me will also do the works I do! Indeed, he will do greater ones, because I am going to the Father. In fact, whatever you ask for in my name, I will do; so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me for something in my name, I will do it. If you love me, you will keep my commands; and I will ask the Father, and he will give you another comforting Counselor like me, the Spirit of Truth, to be with you forever. The world cannot receive him, because it neither sees nor knows him. You know him, because he is staying with you and will be united with you. I will not leave you orphans - I am coming to you. In just a little while, the world will no longer see me; but you will see me. Because I live, you too will live. When that day comes, you will know that I am united with my Father, and you with me, and I with you. Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me, and the one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him." Y'hudah (not the one from K'riot) said to him, "What has happened, Lord, that you are about to reveal yourself to us and not to the world?" Yeshua answered him, "If someone loves me, he will keep my word; and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Someone who doesn't love me doesn't keep my words - and the word you are hearing is not my own but that of the Father who sent me. I have told you these things while I am still with you. But the Counselor, the Ruach HaKodesh, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything; that is, he will remind you of everything I have said to you. What I am leaving with you is shalom - I am giving you my shalom. I don't give the way the world gives. Don't let yourselves be upset or frightened.

Acts 1:6-8
When they were together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore self-rule to Isra'el?" He answered, "You don't need to know the dates or the times; the Father has kept these under his own authority. But you will receive power when the Ruach HaKodesh comes upon you; you will be my [Yeshua's] witnesses both in Yerushalayim and in all Y'hudah and Shomron, indeed to the ends of the earth!"

Acts 2:16-21
No, this is what was spoken about through the prophet Yo'el: 'ADONAI says: "In the Last Days, I will pour out from my Spirit upon everyone. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my slaves, both men and women, will I pour out from my Spirit in those days; and they will prophesy. I will perform miracles in the sky above and signs on the earth below - blood, fire and thick smoke. The sun will become dark and the moon blood before the great and fearful Day of ADONAI comes. And then, whoever calls on the name of ADONAI [Yeshua] will be saved."'

Acts 2:38
Kefa answered them, "Turn from sin, return to God, and each of you be immersed on the authority of Yeshua the Messiah into forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Ruach HaKodesh!"

Acts 8:12
But when they came to believe Philip, as he announced the Good News concerning the Kingdom of God and the name of Yeshua the Messiah, they were immersed, both men and women.

Acts 8:35-38
Then Philip started to speak - beginning with that passage, he went on to tell him the Good News about Yeshua. As they were going down the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, "Look! Here's some water! Is there any reason why I shouldn't be immersed?" [37 no Greek text] He ordered the chariot to stop; then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and Philip immersed him.

Acts 10:47-48
"Is anyone prepared to prohibit these people from being immersed in water? After all, they have received the Ruach HaKodesh, just as we did." And he ordered that they be immersed in the name of Yeshua the Messiah. Then they asked Kefa to stay on with them for a few days.

Acts 11:15-18
"But I had hardly begun speaking when the Ruach HaKodesh fell on them, just as on us at the beginning! And I remembered that the Lord had said, 'Yochanan used to immerse people in water, but you will be immersed in the Ruach HaKodesh.' Therefore, if God gave them the same gift as he gave us after we had come to put our trust in the Lord Yeshua the Messiah, who was I to stand in God's way?" On hearing these things, they stopped objecting and began to praise God, saying, "This means that God has enabled the Goyim as well to do t'shuvah and have life!"

Romans 5:1-2
So, since we have come to be considered righteous by God because of our trust, let us continue to have shalom with God through our Lord, Yeshua the Messiah. Also through him and on the ground of our trust, we have gained access to this grace in which we stand; so let us boast about the hope of experiencing God's glory.

Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates his own love for us in that the Messiah died on our behalf while we were still sinners.

Romans 6:3-8
Don't you know that those of us who have been immersed into the Messiah Yeshua have been immersed into his death? Through immersion into his death we were buried with him; so that just as, through the glory of the Father, the Messiah was raised from the dead, likewise we too might live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will also be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was put to death on the execution-stake with him, so that the entire body of our sinful propensities might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For someone who has died has been cleared from sin. Now since we died with the Messiah, we trust that we will also live with him.

Romans 6:22-23
However, now, freed from sin and enslaved to God, you do get the benefit - it consists in being made holy, set apart for God, and its end result is eternal life. For what one earns from sin is death; but eternal life is what one receives as a free gift from God, in union with the Messiah Yeshua, our Lord.

Romans 8:3-4
For what the Torah could not do by itself, because it lacked the power to make the old nature cooperate, God did by sending his own Son as a human being with a nature like our own sinful one [but without sin]. God did this in order to deal with sin, and in so doing he executed the punishment against sin in human nature, so that the just requirement of the Torah might be fulfilled in us who do not run our lives according to what our old nature wants but according to what the Spirit wants.

Romans 10:8-13
What, then, does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart." - that is, the word about trust which we proclaim, namely, that if you acknowledge publicly with your mouth that Yeshua is Lord and trust in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be delivered [saved]. For with the heart one goes on trusting and thus continues toward righteousness, while with the mouth one keeps on making public acknowledgement and thus continues toward deliverance. For the passage quoted says that everyone who rests his trust on him will not be humiliated. That means that there is no difference between Jew and Gentile - ADONAI is the same for everyone, rich toward everyone who calls on him [Yeshua], since everyone who calls on the name of ADONAI will be delivered [saved].

Galatians 2:15-16
We are Jews by birth, not so-called 'Goyishe sinners'; even so, we have come to realize that a person is not declared righteous by God on the ground of his legalistic observance of Torah commands, but through the Messiah Yeshua's trusting faithfulness. Therefore, we too have put our trust in Messiah Yeshua and become faithful to him, in order that we might be declared righteous on the ground of the Messiah's trusting faithfulness and not on the ground of our legalistic observance of Torah commands. For on the ground of legalistic observance of Torah commands, no one will be declared righteous.

Galatians 3:26-28
For in union with the Messiah, you are all children of God through this trusting faithfulness; because as many of you as were immersed into the Messiah have clothed yourselves with the Messiah, in whom there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor freeman, neither male nor female; for in union with the Messiah Yeshua, you are all one.

Ephesians 1:13
Furthermore, you who heard the message of the truth, the Good News offering you deliverance, and put your trust in the Messiah were sealed by him with the promised Ruach HaKodesh

Ephesians 2:8-9
For you have been delivered [saved] by grace through trusting, and even this is not your accomplishment but God's gift. You were not delivered [saved] by your own actions; therefore no one should boast.

Ephesians 3:14-17
For this reason, I fall on my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth receives its character. I pray that from the treasures of his glory he will empower you with inner strength by his Spirit, so that the Messiah may live in your hearts through your trusting.

Colossians 2:6-7
Therefore, just as you received the Messiah Yeshua as Lord, keep living your life united with him. Remain deeply rooted in him; continue being built up in him and confirmed in your trust, the way you were taught, so that you overflow in thanksgiving.

Colossians 2:11-13
Also it was in union with him that you were circumcised with a circumcision not done by human hands, but accomplished by stripping away the old nature's control over the body. In this circumcision done by the Messiah, you were buried along with him by being immersed; and in union with him, you were also raised up along with him by God's faithfulness that worked when he raised Yeshua from the dead. You were dead because of your sins, that is, because of your "foreskin", your old nature. But God made you alive along with the Messiah by forgiving you all your sins.

1 Thessalonians 5:23
May the God of shalom make you completely holy- may your entire spirit, soul and body be kept blameless for the coming of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah.

2 Timothy 1:8-10
So don't be ashamed of bearing testimony to our Lord or to me, his prisoner. On the contrary, accept your share in suffering disgrace for the sake of the Good News. God will give you the strength for it, since he delivered us and called us to a life of holiness as his people. It was not because of our deeds, but because of his own purpose and the grace which he gave to us who are united with the Messiah Yeshua. He did this before the beginning of time, but made it public only now through the appearing of our Deliverer, the Messiah Yeshua, who abolished death and, through the Good News, revealed life and immortality.

Titus 3:4-5
But when the kindness and love for mankind of God our Deliverer was revealed, he delivered us. It was not on the ground of any righteous deeds we had done, but on the ground of his own mercy. He did it by means of the mikveh of rebirth and the renewal brought about by the Ruach HaKodesh,

Hebrews 4:15
For we do not have a cohen gadol unable to empathize with our weaknesses; since in every respect he [Yeshua] was tempted just as we are, the only difference being that he did not sin.

1 Peter 1:3-4
Praised be God, Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, who, in keeping with his great mercy, has caused us, through the resurrection of Yeshua the Messiah from the dead, to be born again to a living hope, to an inheritance that cannot decay, spoil or fade, kept safe for you in heaven.

1 Peter 3:21-22
This also prefigures what delivers us now, the water of immersion, which is not the removal of dirt from the body, but one's pledge to keep a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of Yeshua the Messiah. He has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities and powers subject to him.

Revelation 20:4
Then I saw thrones, and those seated on them received authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for testifying about Yeshua and proclaiming the Word of God, also those who had not worshipped the beast or its image and had not received the mark on their foreheads and on their hands. They came to life and ruled with the Messiah for a thousand years.

Supportive Scriptures - Receiving the Holy Spirit

Judges 3:9-10
But when the people of Isra'el cried out to ADONAI, ADONAI raised up a savior for the people of Isra'el; and he rescued them; this was 'Otni'el, the son of Kalev's younger brother K'naz. The spirit of ADONAI came upon him, and he judged Isra'el.

Luke 11:13
So if you, even though you are bad, know how to give your children gifts that are good, how much more will the Father keep giving the Ruach HaKodesh from heaven to those who keep asking him!

Luke 24:49
Now I am sending forth upon you what my Father promised, so stay here in the city until you have been equipped with power from above.

John 3:5-8
Yeshua answered, "Yes, indeed, I tell you that unless a person is born from water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. What is born from the flesh is flesh, and what is born from the Spirit is spirit. Stop being amazed at my telling you that you must be born again from above! The wind blows where it wants to, and you hear its sound, but you don't know where it comes from or where its going. That's how it is with everyone who has been born from the Spirit.'

John 14:25-26
I have told you these things while I am still with you. But the Counselor, the Ruach HaKodesh, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything; that is, he will remind you of everything I have said to you.

Acts 1:8
But you will receive power when the Ruach HaKodesh comes upon you; you will be my witnesses both in Yerushalayim and in all Y'hudah and Shomron, indeed to the ends of the earth!

Acts 4:31
While they were still praying, the place where they were gathered was shaken. They were all filled with the Ruach HaKodesh, and they spoke God's message with boldness.

Acts 8:38a-39
He ordered the chariot to stop; then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and Philip immersed him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away.

Acts 10:44
Kefa was still saying these things when the Ruach HaKodesh fell on all who were hearing the message.

Acts 10:47-48
"Is anyone prepared to prohibit these people from being immersed in water? After all, they have received the Ruach HaKodesh, just as we did." And he ordered that they be immersed in the name of Yeshua the Messiah. Then they asked Kefa to stay on with them for a few days.

Acts 11:15-18
"But I had hardly begun speaking when the Ruach HaKodesh fell on them, just as on us at the beginning! And I remembered that the Lord had said, 'Yochanan used to immerse people in water, but you will be immersed in the Ruach HaKodesh.' Therefore, if God gave them the same gift as he gave us after we had come to put our trust in the Lord Yeshua the Messiah, who was I to stand in Gods way?" On hearing these things (they stopped objecting and began to praise God)

Acts 15:7-9
After lengthy debate, Kefa got up and said to them, "Brothers, you yourselves know that a good while back, God chose me from among you to be the one by whose mouth the Goyim should hear the message of the Good News and come to trust. And God, who knows the heart, bore them witness by giving the Ruach HaKodesh to them, just as he did to us; that is, he made no distinction between us and them, but cleansed their heart by trust.

Supportive Scriptures - Ministry & Gifts of the Holy Spirit

Judges 3:9-10
But when the people of Isra'el cried out to ADONAI, ADONAI raised up a savior for the people of Isra'el; and he rescued them; this was 'Otni'el, the son of Kalev's younger brother K'naz. The spirit of ADONAI came upon him, and he judged Isra'el.

Joel 3:1-2(2:28-29)
After this, I will pour out my Spirit on all humanity. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions; and also on male and female slaves in those days I will pour out my Spirit.

Micah 3:8
On the other hand, I am full of power by the Spirit of ADONAI, full of justice and full of might, to declare to Ya'akov his crime, to Isra'el his sin.

Mark 16:17-18
And these signs will accompany those who do trust: in my name they will drive out demons, speak with new tongues, not be injured if they handle snakes or drink poison, and heal the sick by laying hands on them.

Luke 24:49
Now I am sending forth upon you what my Father promised, so stay here in the city until you have been equipped with power from above.

John 3:5-6
Yeshua answered, "Yes, indeed, I tell you that unless a person is born from water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. What is born from the flesh is flesh, and what is born from the Spirit is spirit."

John 14:25-26
I have told you these things while I am still with you. But the Counselor, the Ruach HaKodesh, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything; that is, he will remind you of everything I have said to you.

Acts 1:8
But you will receive power when the Ruach HaKodesh comes upon you; you will be my witnesses both in Yerushalayim and in all Y'hudah and Shomron, indeed to the ends of the earth!

Acts 2:1-4
The festival of Shavu'ot arrived, and the believers all gathered together in one place. Suddenly there came a sound from the sky like the roar of a violent wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then they saw what looked like tongues of fire, which separated and came to rest on each one of them. They were all filled with the Ruach HaKodesh and began to talk in different languages, as the Spirit enabled them to speak.

Acts 4:31
While they were still praying, the place where they were gathered was shaken. They were all filled with the Ruach HaKodesh, and they spoke God's message with boldness.

Acts 10:45-46
All the believers from the Circumcision faction who had accompanied Kefa were amazed that the gift of the Ruach HaKodesh was also being poured out on the Goyim, for they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Kefa's response was ...

Acts 19:6
... and when Sha'ul placed his hands on them, the Ruach HaKodesh came upon them; so that they began speaking in tongues and prophesying.

Romans 5:4-5
... endurance produces character, and character produces hope; and this hope does not let us down, because God's love for us has already been poured out in our hearts through the Ruach HaKodesh who has been given to us.

Romans 8:1-2
Therefore, there is no longer any condemnation awaiting those who are in union with the Messiah Yeshua. Why? Because the Torah of the Spirit, which produces this life in union with Messiah Yeshua, has set me free from the "Torah" of sin and death.

Romans 8:5-6
For those who identify with their old nature set their minds on the things of the old nature, but those who identify with the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. Having one's mind controlled by the old nature is death, but having ones mind controlled by the Spirit is life and shalom.'

Romans 8:26-27
Similarly, the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we don't know how to pray the way we should. But the Spirit himself pleads on our behalf with groanings too deep for words; and the one who searches hearts knows exactly what the Spirit is thinking, because his pleadings for God's people accord with God's will.

Romans 12:6-8
But we have gifts that differ and which are meant to be used according to the grace that has been given to us. If your gift is prophecy, use it to the extent of your trust; if it is serving, use it to serve; if you are a teacher, use your gift in teaching; if you are a counselor, use your gift to comfort and exhort; if you are someone who gives, do it simply and generously; if you are in a position of leadership, lead with diligence and zeal; if you are one who does acts of mercy, do them cheerfully.

1 Corinthians 12:3
Therefore, I want to make it clear to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says, "Yeshua is cursed!" and no one can say, "Yeshua is Lord," except by the Ruach HaKodesh.

1 Corinthians 12:7-11
Moreover, to each person is given the particular manifestation of the Spirit that will be for the common good. To one, through the Spirit, is given a word of wisdom; to another, a word of knowledge, in accordance with the same Spirit; to another, faith, by the same Spirit; and to another, gifts of healing, by the one Spirit; to another, the working of miracles; to another, prophecy; to another, the ability to judge between spirits; to another, the ability to speak in different kinds of tongues; and to yet another, the ability to interpret tongues. One and the same Spirit is at work in all these things, distributing to each person as he chooses.

1 Corinthians 14:1-3
Pursue love! However, keep on eagerly seeking the things of the Spirit; and especially seek to be able to prophesy. For someone speaking in a tongue is not speaking to people but to God, because no one can understand, since he is uttering mysteries in the power of the Spirit. But someone prophesying is speaking to people, edifying, encouraging and comforting them.

Ephesians 1:13
Furthermore, you who heard the message of the truth, the Good News offering you deliverance, and put your trust in the Messiah were sealed by him with the promised Ruach HaKodesh

Ephesians 3:14-16
For this reason, I fall on my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth receives its character. I pray that from the treasures of his glory he will empower you with inner strength by his Spirit ...

Ephesians 6:17-18
And take the helmet of deliverance; along with the sword given by the Spirit, that is, the Word of God; as you pray at all times, with all kinds of prayers and requests, in the Spirit, vigilantly and persistently, for all God's people.

Titus 3:4-5
But when the kindness and love for mankind of God our Deliverer was revealed, he delivered us. It was not on the ground of any righteous deeds we had done, but on the ground of his own mercy. He did it by means of the mikveh of rebirth and the renewal brought about by the Ruach HaKodesh

1 Peter 4:10-11
As each one has received some spiritual gift, he should use it to serve others, like good managers of God's many-sided grace - if someone speaks, let him speak God's words; if someone serves, let him do so out of strength that God supplies; so that in everything God may be glorified through Yeshua the Messiah - to him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen.

Jude 1:20
But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith, and pray in union with the Ruach HaKodesh.

Supportive Scriptures - Baptism & Filling of the Holy Spirit

Matthew 3:11
It's true that I am immersing you in water so that you might turn from sin to God; but the one coming after me is more powerful than I - I'm not worthy even to carry his sandals - and he will immerse you in the Ruach HaKodesh and in fire.

Matthew 28:19
Therefore, go and make people from all nations into talmidim, immersing them into the reality of the Father, the Son and the Ruach HaKodesh

Mark 1:8
I have immersed you in water, but he will immerse you in the Ruach HaKodesh

Luke 3:16
... so Yochanan answered them all, "I am immersing you in water, but he who is coming is more powerful than I - I'm not worthy to untie his sandals! He will immerse you in the Ruach HaKodesh and in fire."

Acts 1:5
For Yochanan used to immerse people in water; but in a few days, you will be immersed in the Ruach HaKodesh!

Acts 1:8
But you will receive power when the Ruach HaKodesh comes upon you; you will be my witnesses both in Yerushalayim and in all Y'hudah and Shomron, indeed to the ends of the earth!

Acts 2:1-4
The festival of Shavu'ot arrived, and the believers all gathered together in one place. Suddenly there came a sound from the sky like the roar of a violent wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then they saw what looked like tongues of fire, which separated and came to rest on each one of them. They were all filled with the Ruach HaKodesh and began to talk in different languages, as the Spirit enabled them to speak.

Acts 2:38
Kefa answered them, "Turn from sin, return to God, and each of you be immersed on the authority of Yeshua the Messiah into forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Ruach HaKodesh!

Acts 4:8
Then Kefa, filled with the Ruach HaKodesh, said to them, "Rulers and elders of the people!"

Acts 4:31
While they were still praying, the place where they were gathered was shaken. They were all filled with the Ruach HaKodesh, and they spoke God's message with boldness.

Acts 7:55
But he [Stephen], full of the Ruach HaKodesh, looked up to heaven and saw God's Sh'khinah, with Yeshua standing at the right hand of God.

Acts 11:15-18
"But I had hardly begun speaking when the Ruach HaKodesh fell on them, just as on us at the beginning! And I remembered that the Lord had said, 'Yochanan used to immerse people in water, but you will be immersed in the Ruach HaKodesh.' Therefore, if God gave them the same gift as he gave us after we had come to put our trust in the Lord Yeshua the Messiah, who was I to stand in Gods way?" On hearing these things (they stopped objecting and began to praise God)

Acts 13:9
Then Sha'ul, also known as Paul, filled with the Ruach HaKodesh, stared straight at him and said..

Acts 19:6
and when Sha'ul placed his hands on them, the Ruach HaKodesh came upon them; so that they began speaking in tongues and prophesying.

1 Corinthians 12:13
For it was by one Spirit that we were all immersed into one body, whether Jews or Gentiles, slaves or free; and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

Ephesians 5:18
Don't get drunk with wine, because it makes you lose control. Instead, keep on being filled with the Spirit

Commentary

Blasphemy is communicating disrespect for something that is sacred or someone who is holy. Among believers, we often hear doctrinal statements espoused as though they have nothing or little to do with each other. For example:

  1. Blaspheming God is a forgivable sin, whereas blaspheming the Holy Spirit is an unpardonable sin (Leviticus 24:15-16; Matthew 12:32).
  2. If we believe in our heart and confess with our mouth that Yeshua was raised from the dead we will be saved (Romans 10:8-9).
  3. It is necessary that we receive the Holy Spirit in order to receive power and spiritual gifts from on high (Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 14:1).

These sayings are correct, but have we sufficiently considered how they are related to each other, and why they are correct in view of their raising perplexing questions? For example, statement #1 raises the question: "Why is blaspheming the Holy Spirit unforgivable, whereas blaspheming Yeshua or the Father forgivable?" And as to statement #2: "What is special about believing in Yeshua as compared to God the Father and the Holy Spirit? Is it not sufficient to believe in God broadly? After all, there are those in the world that have never heard of Yeshua." And a question that may arise regarding statement #3 is: "Why does God single out the Holy Spirit as the conveyer of His power and gifts? Can we not receive God's power and gifts directly from the Father and Yeshua without the Holy Spirit's intervention?"

The answers to these questions become clearer when we stop thinking of biblical doctrines such as these as standing on their own, and begin to appreciate them as interrelated. As a matter of fact, despite the prominence given in some quarter to sayings #1, #2, and #3, none of them are primary. What is primary and the umbrella for all of them is what is known as the "Sh'ma" - Deuteronomy 6:4-6 as explained by Yeshua in Matthew 22:34-40:

... but when the P'rushim learned that he had silenced the Tz'dukim, they got together, and one of them who was a Torah expert asked a sh'eilah to trap him: "Rabbi, which of the mitzvot in the Torah is the most important?" He told him, "'You are to love ADONAI your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.' This is the greatest and most important mitzvah. And a second is similar to it, 'You are to love your neighbor as yourself.' All of the Torah and the Prophets are dependent on these two mitzvot."

We cannot love God with all of our heart, soul and strength unless we know Him intimately, and we cannot know Him intimately unless God reveals Yeshua to us through the Holy Spirit (John 6:44). We cannot know Him by our own knowledge and virtue - even by the Words of Scripture if the Holy Spirit does not first soften our hearts and give us understanding (Ephesians 2:8-9). Then, once God and His nature are revealed to us, we have the choice of whether or not to receive Him. If we do, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in us, we are given a new spirit, our hearts become softened, and we become open to more of God. If we do not, we keep our old spirit, our hearts become hardened, and God becomes more distant to us over time.

But you say: "How do sayings #1, #2, and #3 fit into this? What about #1 for example? What about trusting in Yeshua to be saved?" Consider the totality of what John 3:14-18 says:

Just as Moshe lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that everyone who trusts in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only and unique Son, so that everyone who trusts in him [some translations say "believes in Him"] may have eternal life, instead of being utterly destroyed. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but rather so that through him, the world might be saved. Those who trust in him are not judged; those who do not trust have been judged already, in that they have not trusted in the one who is God's only and unique Son.

For anyone to believe and trust in Yeshua we must be brought to that belief and trust by the Holy Spirit, i.e. by God Himself who draws us near through the Holy Spirit (John 6:44). Man cannot perceive the invisible God by his natural senses so, without the Holy Spirit, there is no natural way to know Him, and therefore no reason to believe in Him since we (presumably) do not believe what the Bible says of Him either.

So, the Holy Spirit is needed in order for statement #1 above to be true. And the Holy Spirit is likewise needed for statement #2 but, as valuable as receiving power and spiritual gifts are, they are not as primary as knowing God for Who He Is; that knowledge can only be brought to us by the Holy Spirit. As for statement #3, if we blaspheme and therefore reject the Holy Spirit, we cannot be brought to the place of knowing either God the son or God the Father, and we therefore cannot be saved. On the other hand, if we blaspheme the Father or Yeshua (sinful to be sure) but do not reject the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit can eventually lead us to repentance and salvation. That is why Scripture refers to blaspheming the Holy Spirit (and not the Father nor the Son) as an eternal sin.1

Thus far, I have spoken of receiving Messiah and the Holy Spirit and of their respective ministries, but Scripture also speaks of an "immersion" or "baptism" (Matthew 3:11), and a "filling" (Ephesians 5:18) of the Holy Spirit as well. I believe that they are essentially the same, but perhaps the baptism is an initial filling. Apparently, the Holy Spirit is like a fluid, and we can have more of less of Him depending upon our willingness to receive Him, and our repentant condition. We can have a minimal amount of Him - just enough to bring us to the place of salvation, and we can also be filled with Him, the result being that He can give us spiritual power and spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12:8-10). Oppositely, we can lose a portion of the Holy Spirit (drip-by-drip) as a result of sin, and can be re-filled with the Holy Spirit if and when we repent (Ephesians 5:18).

This Mitzvah and its accompanying Scriptures clearly show that the triune persons of God work together, and that the Holy Spirit, along with Messiah, is key to our relationship with God and to our salvation.


1. I do not believe that Scripture teaches that a momentary blasphemous remark against the Holy Spirit leads to eternal unforgiveness. I believe that Stern translates Matthew 12:32 correctly in saying: "... but whoever keeps on speaking against the Ruach HaKodesh will never be forgiven ..."


Classical Commentators

This Mitzvah is not addressed by any of the classical commentators.

NCLA: JMm JFm KMm KFm GMm GFm

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