Can Seventh-day Adventists have the Holy Spirit?

by Dr. Philip (Sunni) E. J. Moreno

As a third generation Seventh-day Adventist and employee of the church, I had a longing for an experience with the Holy Spirit. I read about it in the Bible and I prayed for it, but a genuine and convincing experience with the Holy Spirit eluded me. I asked around the Adventist circles, including my pastor colleagues, and they too couldn’t tell how it is to have the Holy Spirit. All they did was quote Bible verses about the functions of the Holy Spirit or say is that God will send his Spirit after the Investigative Judgment to empower the saints for the final time of trouble, but they obviously lacked the experience to relate to it, just like me. I thank God for his patience and goodness, and for giving me His Spirit and the wisdom that has taught me the answers to my questions. Here is what I have learned about the Holy Spirit and the Christian:

1. No one could be a true “saved” Christian and gain entrance into heaven unless he is “born again” in the Holy Spirit. (Jn3:3)
2. The Holy Spirit leads us to all truth, which includes understanding the Bible, among others. (Jn16:13)
3. The Holy Spirit is proof that we are God’s children. (Rom8:16)
4. The Holy Spirit is God’s seal and is a guarantee for our salvation. (Eph1:13,14)

The facts mentioned above have opened my eyes to the reasons why as an Adventist I didn’t and couldn’t have the Holy Spirit:

1. As an Adventist I gave credence to the Sabbath as God’s seal and thus denied the Holy Spirit the chance to seize and seal me. [God’s seal is the Holy Spirit. Eph1:13]
2. My attempts to acquire the Holy Spirit were through my obedience to the 10 commandments. [Paul corrected this in Gal3:1-5]
3. As an Adventist I insisted on being under the 10 commandments and therefore I couldn’t be led by the Holy Spirit. [Gal5:18]

I praise God for these truths that have brought me to a higher level in my Christian life, and for giving me the opportunities to share these facts with the other members of my church who are sincere in their quest for the Holy Spirit. I now can say with sincerity and truth that the Adventist can NEVER acquire the Holy Spirit unless he lets go of his beliefs on the Sabbath doctrine as God’s seal and his obedience* to the 10 commandments/the Law in his attempts to please God.

*Explained in the next discourse on the Holy Spirit.

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The Limits of the Holy Spirit

It looks like I’m embarking on a discourse where I’m going to fence in the Holy Spirit or determine where it should be and where it shouldn’t be. I’ll make it clear at the start that the sole aim of this piece is to enlighten the Adventist regarding Holy Spirit matters, knowing from my own experience that there is widespread ignorance in the SDA church regarding this third god-head.

Here are some Biblical facts that will define the boundaries of the Holy Spirit:

1. The Holy Spirit was present during the creation. (Gen1:2)
2. It was given to certain key personalities [leaders, prophets] in the Old Testament era, but there is no record that it was available to everyone as a common currency in this covenant. (Num24:2; 1Sam11:6)
3. The Holy Spirit was prophesied in Jeremiah 31 that it would replace the previous covenant.
4. It was prophesied in the Old Testament more than once that the Holy Spirit would be “poured out” on God’s people, which means that it was not available yet. (Joel2:28)
5. Jesus promised it. (Jn16)
6. The Holy Spirit is the Covenant of the Christian and Paul explicitly says that it replaced the 10 commandments. (2Cor3)
7. It initially came to the believers in the upper room. (Acts2)
8. It is available to anyone who believes in the gospel. (Eph1:13)
   

These facts will tell us the following truths:

1. Anyone who insists on adhering to the 10 commandments is inadvertently adapting the Old Covenant as his covenant with God. There is no empowerment of the Holy Spirit here.
2. Obedience to the 10 commandments is a blatant denial of the Holy Spirit. It is either you get the Holy Spirit and allow it to bear its fruit in you or you stick to the 10 commandments and bring forth 10 fruits by your self-righteous efforts.
3. The Holy Spirit and the 10 commandments don’t mix, they cancel each other.
   

This verse says it all: “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.” (Gal5:18)


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Published with the permission of Dr. Philip Moreno