Chapter 5

"THE POWER OF THE MOST HIGH"

a) The wide scope of "spirit" in the Old Testament

We need to examine first the various uses of the term "spirit" in the Old Testament, for this is the inspired "background" for a proper understanding of its usage in the New Testament. Incidentally, whether or not to employ an initial capital to the word depends upon the translators' judgment the original texts do not make this distinction.

'RUACH' is the Hebrew word translated 'spirit' in the O.T. The Oxford Hebrew & English Lexicon of the Old Testament (pp 924-926) gives the following basic meanings for RUACH: "breath, wind, spirit ("spirit" here signifying temper or disposition). Further, "the spirit of God" is described as impelling the prophets to utter instruction or warning, also imparting warlike energy and executive and administrative power to judges and rulers, especially to the Messianic king, also endowing men with various gifts, e.g. of wisdom and skill." Similarly, in Young's Analytical Concordance, the introductory "Hints & Helps to Bible Interpretation", item 66, reads: "SPIRIT is used of God himself, or the Divine Mind, His energy, influence, gifts; of the vital principle of animals, and of breath, wind, or air in motion, etc. Gen. 1.1; 3.8; 6.3,17; 8.1; 26.35 etc." A few examples of each of these uses will be helpful in laying a foundation for exposition; in each case the references could be greatly multiplied.

In the following examples the italicised word indicates the English translation of the original word under consideration.

RUACH as breath, animating both man and animals (and synonymous with NESHEMAH):

".. I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall die" (Genesis 6:17).

"If he [God] should take back his spirit to himself, and gather to himself his breath [neshemah], all flesh would perish together, and man would return to dust" (Job 34:14-15).

".. when thou takest away their breath , they die and return to their dust. When thou sendest forth thy Spirit , they are created; and thou renewest the face of the ground" (Psalm 104:29-30).

"When his breath departs he returns to his earth; on that very day his plans perish" (Psalm 146:4).

See also Ecclesiastes 3:21; 12:7; Isaiah 11:4; Ezekiel 37:9.

RUACH as wind:

"..And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided ... ;" (Genesis 8:1).

"But the LORD hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up" (Jonah 1:4).

RUACH as mind, spirit, disposition

(1) as part of man's natural make-up:

"..[Esau's wives] made life bitter [lit: "they were bitterness of spirit"] for Isaac and Rebekah" (Genesis 26:35).

"..[the people] did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit .." (Exodus 6:9).

"and if the spirit of jealousy comes upon him, and he is jealous of his wife who has defiled herself ..." (Numbers 5:14).

"And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no courage left in any man, because of you;" (Joshua 2:11).

See also Genesis 41:8; Numbers 14:24; Deuteronomy 2:30; 1 Samuel 1:15;1 Kings 21:5 and very frequently; cf. God's sending an evil spirit upon Saul (1 Samuel 18:10) and a spirit of confusion upon the Egyptians (Isaiah 19:14).

(2) Imparted by God to man:

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me" (Psalm 51:10).

"... get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel"? (Ezekiel 18:31).

"A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will take out of your flesh the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes ..." (Ezekiel 36:26-27).

"And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of compassion and supplication ..." (Zechariah 12:10).

RUACH as God's power, word, mind:

(1) in creation:

"The spirit of God has made me, and the breath [neshemah] of the Almighty gives me life" (Job 33:4).

"By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and all their host by the breath of his mouth ... For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood forth" (Psalm 33:6-9).

"Thus says God, the LORD, ... who spread forth the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath [neshemah] to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk in it" (Isaiah 42:5).

(Note the parallelism in each of these quotations).

(2) conferring various gifts ...:

"See, I have called by name Bezalel ... and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship ... " (Exodus 31:2-3).

"Thou gavest thy good Spirit to instruct them, [i.e. Israel in the desert] ..." (Nehemiah 9:20).

"Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he ... crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them;..." (Judges 11:29-32).

"... and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David from that day forward" (1 Samuel 16:13).

"And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, (i.e. the Messiah)

the spirit of wisdom and understanding,

the spirit of counsel and might,

the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.

And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD" (Isaiah 11:2-3).

"Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him, he will bring forth justice to the nations" (Isaiah 42:1).

Note these last two quotations, unarguably Messianic in their application. As referring to God's power bestowed on His Son they are clear; but not if taken as referring to a third divine person bestowed on a second person.

(3) ... especially to speak God's word:

"...and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. ... 'Would that all the LORD's people were prophets, that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!" (Numbers 11:25-29).

"The Spirit of the LORD speaks by me, his word is upon my tongue. The God of Israel has spoken, the Rock of Israel has said to me ..." (2 Samuel 23:2-3).

"The spirit of God came upon Azariah ... When Asa heard ... the prophecy of Azariah ... he took courage .." (2 Chronicles 15:1, 8).

"Then the Spirit of God took possession of Zechariah ... and he said to them: 'Thus says God, "Why do you transgress the commandments of the LORD ...?"'" (2 Chronicles 24:20).

"..thou .. didst warn them by thy Spirit through thy prophets .." (Nehemiah 9:30).

RUACH as God's omnipresence please refer back to chapter 3, proposition 6 (page 38).

It will be apparent from a study of the citations made so far (and a concordance will supply many more) that RUACH has a wide and varied usage in the Old Testament, but in every case there is the underlying idea of invisible and intangible mind or power.

USE OF THE TERM "HOLY" IN CONNECTION WITH "SPIRIT"

In chapter 3, proposition 8 (p.41), it was explained that "holy", in its Scriptural usage, signifies "set apart for a particular purpose". What then is the special significance of the term Holy Spirit? Surely every aspect of the Spirit of God (as distinct from man's spirit) is holy, "set apart"? This is so, but particularly when speaking of God's intervention to save men and women through their faith in His promises, and in the redemption through Jesus, the New Testament often uses the phrase "Holy Spirit" rather than simply "the Spirit". Nevertheless very frequently the latter term must, in its context, also mean "Holy Spirit". ⁽²⁾

Apart from this distinction of purpose (roughly, either in creation or redemption), it should be clearly recognised that on the divine side there is only one Spirit (Ephesians 4:4), one mind and power, but in a wide variety of manifestations (c.f. "Gifts of the Spirit" p.118ff). ⁽³⁾

OLD TESTAMENT USE OF "HOLY SPIRIT"

There are only three occurrences in the Old Testament:

"Cast me not away from thy presence, and take not thy holy Spirit from me" (Psalm 51:11).

Here David, deeply repentant over his great transgression with Bathsheba (see psalm title), prays that God would not expel him from His presence, nor withdraw from him the spirit of prophecy with which he had been endowed at his anointing (1 Samuel 16:13; 2 Samuel 23:2; Acts 2:30)expressly a Holy Spirit gift (2 Peter 1:21). The other two occurrences are:

"In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them;... But they rebelled and grieved his holy Spirit; therefore he turned to be their enemy, and himself fought against them. Then he remembered the days of old, of Moses his servant. Where is he who brought up out of the sea the shepherds of his flock? Where is he who put in the midst of them his holy Spirit, who caused his glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses, who divided the waters before them to make for himself an everlasting name, who led them through the depths? ... Like cattle that go down into the valley, the Spirit of the LORD gave them rest. So thou didst lead thy people, to make for thyself a glorious name" (Isaiah 63:9-14).

This graphic description of God's care of Israel in the wilderness, after redeeming them from Egyptian bondage, refers in verse 9 to the angel of God's presence (Exodus 23:20 ff) as the guardian and guide of the people. The references to "his Holy Spirit" might well refer to this angel (the angels are elsewhere described as "ministering spirits sent forth to serve, for the sake of those who are to obtain salvation" Hebrews 1:14). Alternatively, "grieved his holy Spirit" could refer to the sorrow felt by the Almighty Himself over Israel's rebelliousness. In support of this we have Psalm 78:40-41: "How often they ... grieved him in the desert! They .. provoked the Holy One of Israel." This thought is picked up by Paul in Ephesians 4:30: "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." There is no good reason here to divorce "the Spirit of the LORD" from "the LORD" Himself it was His grieving over His people's waywardness, just as it was also His leading them, as verse 14 of the Isaiah passage states.

b) NEW TESTAMENT USE OF "SPIRIT" AND "HOLY SPIRIT" ⁽⁴⁾

When we examine the large number of New Testament passages in which “spirit” (or “Spirit”) is featured we find many parallels with Old Testament usage. Generally speaking in the N.T. the Greek pneuma is used as the equivalent of the O.T. Hebrew ruach. In view of the New Testament emphasis on God’s great purpose to save both Jew and Gentile through the new covenant in Christ Jesus it is not surprising that the majority of verses refer to God’s Holy Spirit, either expressly so-named or simply as “the Spirit” where the context implies “the Holy Spirit”.  Nevertheless the foundation ideas of breath, wind or disposition are very much in evidence, with a remarkable number of passages presenting the Holy Spirit as an invisible fluid medium, able to be “poured out”. The following list repeats the sequence of themes already exemplified from the Old Testament; in nearly every case the Greek word is “pneuma”, with “hagion” (holy) where added:

“For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so faith apart from works is dead” (James 2:26).

“And when he had said this, he breathed [enephusesen] on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22).

" ...... the Lord Jesus will slay him with the breath of his mouth ...“ (2 Thessalonians 2:8).

“All scripture is inspired by God ..“ (2 Timothy 3:16; Greek: theopneustos—God-breathed).

“But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet ..“ (Revelation 11: 11).

PNEUMA as wind:

“The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes ..“(John 3:8).

“..a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind [pnoe] .. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit . .“(Acts 2:2,4).

“Of the angels he says, ‘Who makes his angels winds..." (Hebrews 1:7).

PNEUMA as mind, disposition:

“.. My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour” (Luke 1:46-47).

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3).

“And the child grew and became strong in spirit. .“ (Luke 1:80).

" ... and being fervent in spirit, he (Apollos) spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus ..“ (Acts 18:25).

“for God did not give us a spirit of timidity ..“ (2 Timothy 1:7).

PNEUMA as God’s power:

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). 

“And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city, until you are clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49).

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;” (Acts 1:8; literally: ... power, the Holy Spirit coming upon you”).

“...how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and [or: “even”] with power; . .“(Acts 10:38).

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope” (Romans 15:13).

“.. what Christ has wrought through me .. by the power of the Holy Spirit ..“ (Romans 15:18-19).

“.. my speech and my message were.. in demonstration of the Spirit and [or: “even”] power, that your faith might.. rest.. in the power of God” (1 Corinthians 2:4-5).

Even a cursory glance through this last set of passages will demonstrate the close connection between the Holy Spirit and power. But several of them go further than this. They require us to recognise that the two are identical. Luke 1:35 is a typical example of this, where Hebrew parallelism—the same thought repeated in different words—requires us to equate “the Holy Spirit” with “the power of the Most High”: i.e. the two are one and the same. Similarly, the literal translation (in parentheses) of Acts 1:8 shows “power” and “the Holy Spirit” grammatically parallel with one another.’ Christ’s promise of the Holy Spirit as the Counsellor in John 14-16 (see pages 5.23-3 1) was repeated in Luke 24:49, where it is described as being “clothed with power from on high”. Again the two terms are seen as interchangeable. The last four references in the above list fall readily into the same category. It could also be said that in harmony with the foregoing, in Acts 10:3 8 and 1 Corinthians 2:4-5, the “and” could legitimately be translated as “the Spirit even power” by the figure of  "epexegesis". ⁽⁵⁾

PNEUMA as God's mind

In the Old Testament the prophet Isaiah, extolling God's uniqueness and His majesty and power in creation, wrote (Isaiah 40:13):

"Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, or as his counsellor has instructed him?"

But when the inspired apostle Paul quotes this passage (using the Greek Septuagint translation), he twice renders the phrase as "mind of the Lord":

"For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counsellor?" (Romans 11:34).

"For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ" (1 Corinthians 2:16).

Thus spirit and mind are equivalent terms. But the Corinthians quotation has a very instructive context which brings out an important point about the relationship of God to His spirit. The apostle refers to the human mind in a simple analogy:

"For what person knows a man's thoughts except the spirit of the man which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God" (v.11).

Clearly "the spirit of the man" referred to here is the man's own mind, part of him . It is certainly not a separate person. We use spirit in this sense in everyday speech when we speak of someone being happy or sorrowful or bitter in spirit. And Paul uses a similar analogy to describe the relationship of God and His spirit. God's Spirit is part of Him, His mind in fact, just as the spirit of man is his mind, as the verse so clearly shows. Thus the mind or spirit, is not to be interpreted as a separate entity from the person.

The importance and implications of this necessary conclusion can scarcely be over-stated and may well be described as an axe laid to the root of the trinitarian tree! The Spirit of God is His mind, His agent, not a separate person.

And the mind of God has been revealed to mankind by the process of "inspiration" (literally "in-breathing"). Inspiration has made possible the enlightenment of those who seek Him by expounding and interpreting His purpose in creating our world. It "came mightily" ⁽⁶⁾ upon the men and women whom God selected to further His plan of salvation. And in particular, "men moved by the Holy Spirit" ⁽⁷⁾ spoke and wrote the Holy Scriptures, the Word of God. Hence Paul's statement, already quoted: "All scripture is inspired by God". ⁽⁸⁾

PNEUMA and God's word of command and power

We have seen that in the O.T. spirit is used to describe the word of God in action. This was illustrated in the passages quoted in connection with creation, notably Psalm 33:6,9, which follows the repeated Genesis 1 pattern: "And God said .. and it was so". Similarly in the N.T. spirit and God's spoken commands are often regarded as synonymous. Thus Paul exhorts the Ephesians to

"take ... the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Ephesians 6:17).

In this reference the English reader is likely to understand the "word of God" as referring to "the sword", but the original makes it clear that the word "which" belongs to "Spirit" and not to "sword". ⁽⁹⁾ Thus it is unambiguously "the sword of the Spirit word of God". ⁽¹⁰⁾ In the same vein the writer to the Hebrews speaks of Christ "upholding all things by the word of his power" (Hebrews 1:3).

Such passages illustrate that "the word of power" - whether it be from the mouth of God or Jesus, or the prophets and apostles who likewise performed miracles of healing and raising the dead - is describing the effect of the spirit of God at work.

PNEUMA as Christ's mind and power

The observant reader will have noticed that the references just quoted apply to Jesus as well as to his Father. This should occasion no difficultly once the previously examined implications of 1Corinthians 2:11 are followed through.

"For what person knows a man's thoughts except the spirit of the man which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God" (v.11).

Applying this to Jesus it means that the Spirit of Christ is his (i.e. Christ's) mind, part of him and again not a separate person. During his earthly ministry Jesus totally dedicated himself to fulfilling his Father's will, doing nothing of his own accord, but only what he saw the Father doing ⁽¹¹⁾ ; as he also said: "The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in me ..." ⁽¹²⁾. In short, Jesus was completely of one mind with his Father. ⁽¹³⁾   With his victory over sin and death, and all authority given him in heaven and on earth, Jesus has become God's "chief executive" and plenipotentiary, to watch over the household of believers and "bring many sons to glory". ⁽¹⁴⁾ Thus, Spirit power has been fully vested in Jesus by his Father, and is the central aspect of "the work of the Spirit" in the field of salvation. In confirmation of this we find "the Holy Spirit", "the Spirit of your Father", "the Spirit of Christ" and "the mind of Christ" used interchangeably. This is demonstrated in the following passages:

1. "for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you" (Matthew 10:20).

2. "... for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit" (Mark 13:11).

3. "... I [Jesus] will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict" (Luke 21:15).

4. "But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he [Stephen] spoke" (Acts 6:10).

5. "... having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia ... they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them" (Acts 16:6-7).

6. "... because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God ... (Romans 8:27). Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? ... who is to condemn? Is it Christ Jesus ... who indeed intercedes for us?" (v33-34).

7. "... because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba, Father!'" (Galatians 4:6).

8. "My little children, with whom I am again in travail until Christ be formed in you!" (Galatians 4:19).

9. "... For I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance" (Philippians 1:19)

10. "Now the Lord [Jesus c.f. 4:5-6] is the Spirit ... for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:17-18).

Reviewing these passages in order of citation, note first the gospel parallels in (1), (2), and (3), where "the Spirit of your Father" = "the Holy Spirit" = "I" (Jesus); and where (4) records a fulfilment of this promise. Passages (5), (7) and (8) each use the various terms in such close context as to be virtually synonymous. Similarly, unless we are to infer the existence of two quite distinct intercessors with the Father, we must assume in (6) that "the Spirit" v27 is the same as "Christ Jesus" in v34i.e. one faithful high priest acting on behalf of his flock. As Paul writes elsewhere: "For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus .." ⁽¹⁵⁾ "since he always lives to make intercession for them". ⁽¹⁶⁾ The reference in Philippians (9) neatly and decisively confirms our assumptions and (10) identifies Jesus with "the Spirit".

In no case have we here a separate agent with its own volition. The Spirit is clearly the mind or power of God or Jesus at work on behalf of the believers.

There is one other aspect under this heading which needs consideration. It is the apostle Peter's description of the Old Testament prophets puzzling over statements they made by the Spirit, the significance of which was hidden from them:

"The prophets ... inquired what person or time was indicated by the Spirit of Christ within them when predicting the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glory" (1 Peter 1:10-11).

Does this mean that Christ was already alive ("pre-existed") in Old Testament times? No, for in this same chapter Peter writes of Jesus (verse 20 RV): "... who was foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world, but was manifested at the end of the times for your sake." In many and various ways God spoke by the prophets of the coming Messiah; the testimony they bore to Jesus is "the spirit of prophecy". ⁽¹⁷⁾

SUMMARY SO FAR

Our argument so far (and this will be expanded in Section 3) is, simply, that the Holy Spirit is not itself a person. Instead it is the manifestation of the mind and/or power another person already clearly defined in Scripture in the Old Testament this means God Himself (directly or through His agents); and in the New Testament, it defines the word and/or power of the Father or the Son. This spirit power operated either directly or through selected agents, including both angels and "holy men".

Let us test this by a typical example. When Paul and Barnabas were called to undertake missionary work amongst the Gentiles we read:

"While they [in the Antiochan church] were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them"" (Acts 13:2).

This is clearly the Spirit of Jesus speaking, in fulfilment of the very purpose for which Jesus himself had appeared to Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus. ⁽¹⁸⁾

Similarly, Paul told the Ephesian elders at Miletus that the Holy Spirit had forewarned him of imprisonment and afflictions awaiting him in every city (a warning repeated by the prophet Agabus when Paul reached Caesarea ⁽¹⁹⁾). Again, this will be recognised as the intimation of Jesus himself or his Father. There are indeed plenty of examples in Acts where Jesus, simply styled "the Lord", ⁽²⁰⁾ intervenes to guide his servants. ⁽²¹⁾

Sometimes the (Holy) Spirit seems to be used as an alternative for the angel of the Lord. Thus an angel instructed Philip the Evangelist to approach the Ethiopian eunuch, but later in the narrative "the Spirit said to Philip 'Go up and join this chariot'". ⁽²²⁾

Personal pronouns applied to the Spirit

Once the "person" is understood as the one manifesting these Holy Spirit powers, not the power itself, it will be seen that there is no problem about the employment of personal pronouns such as "he", "who", etc., in connection with the Holy Spirit. They refer back to Jesus, his Father or an angel, as the context and parallelism so often demonstrates. The widespread popular view of "a third person" is the result of faulty thinking, based on a long history of erroneous indoctrination. Our own conclusion, reached from a careful analysis of Scriptural usage, receives powerful support from the following further considerations which do not seem to have occurred to most Trinitarians.

SECTION 3. IS THE HOLY SPIRIT A PERSON?

REFERENCES

2.  E.g. Acts 2:4,17,33; 6:5,10; 8:17,18; 11:28 with 2 Peter 1:21 etc.

3.  The idea of "free spirit" as a separate entity is based upon a misunderstanding of Psalm 51:12 in the AV. Both the RSV and NIV make it clear that what David was praying for there was a willing spirit to be restored to him.

4.  AV "Holy Ghost" - "derived from Old English 'gastlic' ghost-like, where 'ghost' = spirit, soul, breath, the breath of God". (E Partridge: "Origins" London: Routledge & Kegan Paul 4th edn 1966). RV puts "Holy Spirit" in margin, subsequent translations consistently use it in the text.

5.  i.e. "added words to clarify the meaning;" Winer's "Grammar of New Testament Greek" pp 545-546 lists a number of examples of this figure of speech.

6. cp. Judges 14:6

7. 2 Peter 1:21

8. 2 Timothy 3:16

9. Marshall's Interlinear Translation footnote, in loc.

10.  Note in passing that this association of "sword" and "Spirit word" graphically explains one item in the figurative description of one who is named "the Word of God" in the book of Revelation: "... from his mouth issues a sharp sword .. " with which he will make war against both individuals and nations (Rev. 19:15).  In the same vein the writer to the Hebrews speaks of Christ "upholding all things by the word of his power (Hebrews 1:3).

11. John 5:19

12. John 14:10-11

13.  On very similar lines "the spirit of Elijah" rested on Elisha (2 Kings 2:15) and much later on John the Baptist (Luke 1:17). Was this spirit a separate person from these prophets?

14.  Matthew 28:18; Hebrews 2:10 - see Marshall's comment on this in his introduction, p.xvii.

15. 1 Timothy 2:5

16.  Hebrews 7:25

17.  Revelation 19:10. However, the statement is ambiguous; translators and commentators are broadly divided between rendering the (literal) words "the testimony of Jesus" as either "the testimony borne by Jesus" or " ... to Jesus". Alford's Greek Testament, in loc, comes down strongly in favour of the latter interpretation for contextual reasons, and is supported by J B Phillips, Weymouth, Schonfield, the Translator's New Testament and the New American Bible; the construction (simple genitive) is the same as that of John 2:17: "the zeal of (= concerning) your house", and is adopted here.

18. See Acts 9:4-6,15-16; 20:24; 22:17-21; and notably 26:15-18.

19. Acts 20:23; 21:11.

20. Acts 2:36

21. e.g. Acts 7:55-56; 9:5, 10ff; 18:9; 23:11.

22. Acts 8:26,29