…in certain passages of the Sacred Scriptures where allusion
is made to the Spirit, a specific person is intended, as it is conventionally
said in speech and conversation that such-and-such a person is spirit
personified, or is the embodiment of mercy and generosity. In this case the
focus is not upon the lamp but upon the light.
For instance, in reference to the Promised One that must
come after Christ, it is said in John 16:12: “I have yet many things to say
unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is
come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but
whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak.”
Now consider carefully that the words “for he shall not
speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak” clearly
imply that the Spirit of truth is embodied in a Man Who has a soul, Who has
ears to hear and a tongue to speak. Likewise Christ is called the “Spirit of
God”, in the same way that we speak of the light and yet mean both the light
and the lamp.
- 'Abdu'l-Baha (Table talks in Akka, authenticated by ‘Abdu’l-Baha; ‘Some
Answered Questions’ – 2014 revised translation by the Baha’i World Centre)
