February 3, 2011

Paragraph 1.50

"Say: The Holy Spirit Itself hath been generated through the agency of a single letter revealed by this Most Great Spirit, if ye be of them that comprehend. And that innate and untaught nature in its essence is called into being by the verses of God, the Help in Peril, the All-Glorious, the Best-Beloved. Say: This nature prideth itself in its relation to Our transcendent Truth, whilst We, for Our part, glory neither in it nor in aught else, for all beside Myself hath been created through the potency of My word, could ye but understand."

Comments:

• In this powerful paragraph, the Manifestation of God brings our attention to the Entities of the “Holy Spirit” and the “Most Great Spirit”, Their interaction, and the relation between the “nature” of the Person in Whom the Most Great Spirit has appeared, the “verses of God”, and the Most Great Spirit Itself. Incredible subjects, way beyond us mortal “confined” beings to understand! In attempting to gain some insights (partial and imperfect, however) from this powerful paragraph, let’s first start by briefly reviewing the overall concept of “Holy Spirit” as it is referred to in the previous Dispensations, and then turn to the Baha’i Writings for updated illumination, and then explore references containing the Entity of the “Most Great Spirit”. This is indeed a very humbling undertaking! We’ll begin by examining the use of the phrase “Holy Spirit” in the New Testament and the Qur’an – the two latest Dispensations before the coming of the Bab and Baha’u’llah.