But Peter said, Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit (...) You have not lied just to human beings but to GOD

Acts 5,3 f.

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And they stoned Stephen, calling upon the Lord, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge

Acts 7,59 f.

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And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? Sie sprachen: And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (...) and rejoiced, believing in GOD with all his house.

Acts 16,30-34

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Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Spirit hath made you overseers, to feed the church of GOD, which he hath purchased with His own blood

Acts 20,28

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Acts 5,3 f.

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3 Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? 4  Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to GOD.”

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The Holy Spirit is another name for GOD the Father. This does not mean a separate person, different from the father. Therefore, GOD and the Holy Spirit are often equated. This is a Semitic parallelism that is one of the most frequently used literary devices in Scripture. Ananias did not lie to two different people here, but to one person, namely GOD, the Father. The parallelism serves to emphasize this fact. The word "spirit" (Old Greek: pneuma) can be understood on the one hand as the active power of GOD and on the other hand as the gift of GOD's nature, which is given to every believer. GOD is known by many names and names in the Bible. These include Elohim, El Shaddai, Yahweh, Adon, the Holy One of Israel, the Most High and Father. GOD the Father is Holy (Isaiah 6,3) and He is Spirit (John 4,23). Therefore it is obvious to call GOD the Holy Spirit. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and yet he has only one Father, who is not a third person of a triune Godhead.

 

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Acts 7,59 f.

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59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.

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Stephen did not worship Jesus as GOD, but called him to help him as his Lord and witness. The word "spirit" (Old Greek: pneuma) refers here to the natural life of the body. Stephen was stoned to death and directed his last cry to Jesus. He asks Jesus to let him receive the eternal life that GOD promises both to him and to all other saints through faith in Jesus. In John 5,25-29, Jesus says that he has received authority from GOD to raise the dead and give them eternal life. Shortly before Jesus died on the cross, he similarly called out to GOD the Father and asked Him to receive his spirit (Matthew 27,50 / Luke 23,46). Three days later, GOD raised Jesus from the dead. The fact that Stephen asks Jesus not to impute their guilt to his murderers does not mean that Jesus is GOD. For Jesus testified that the Father has given all authority to the Son and has given judgment over men. This includes that Jesus can forgive or convict sins in the name of GOD (Matthew 28,19 / John 5,22 / Philippians 2,9-11). In John 5,30 Jesus explains that he does not judge on his own, but as GOD shows him. The Son is the executor of the Father's divine judgment. Calling on Jesus does not mean worshiping him.

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Apostelgeschichte 16,30-34

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30 Und er führte sie heraus und sprach: Ihr Herren, was muss ich tun, dass ich gerettet werde? 31 Sie sprachen: Glaube an den Herrn Jesus, so wirst du und dein Haus selig! 32 Und sie sagten ihm das Wort des Herrn und allen, die in seinem Hause waren. 33 Und er nahm sie zu sich in derselben Stunde der Nacht und wusch ihnen die Striemen. Und er ließ sich und alle die Seinen sogleich taufen 34 und führte sie in sein Haus und bereitete ihnen den Tisch und freute sich mit seinem ganzen Hause, dass er zum Glauben an GOTT gekommen war. 

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The Bible teaches that Jesus is the way to GOD (John 14,6). He is the mediator who leads us to the Father (1st Timothy 2,5). Whoever believes in Jesus believes in GOD; not because Jesus is GOD, but because he is the Father's representative (John 12,44 / 1st Peter 1,20 f.). The jailer wanted to know what he had to do to be saved. Paul and Silas answered him that he had to believe in Jesus, i.e., accept the message that Jesus, as GOD's messenger, had delivered to all people in the name of the Father. They then preached the Word to him (verse 32). In this way, the jailer could be reconciled with GOD and receive eternal life. Or to put it another way: Through Jesus (verse 31), he came to believe in GOD (verse 34).

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Acts 20,28

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28 "Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of GOD, which he bought with His own blood."

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This verse is rendered differently in different manuscripts. While some translate it as "the church/community of GOD", others say "the church/community of the Lord". Many scholars believe that "Lord" (Old Greek: kyrios) is the original reading, since nowhere in the Bible is it mentioned that GOD has blood. Other scholars believe that "His Own (Son's) Blood" rather than "His own blood" was the original reading. GOD paid for our redemption with the blood of His own Son, Jesus Christ. There are therefore two ways to correctly render this verse:

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28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of the Lord, which he bought with his own blood.

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28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of GOD, which he bought with the blood of His own (son).

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