—that is, the Children of Israel.

As for the Holy Spirit, what is meant by it is the spirit that descends upon the prophets, just as it descended upon David and others. Indeed, their own books state that the Holy Spirit was present in David and many besides him, and that the Messiah said to them, “My Father and your Father, my God and your God.” Thus he called Him the Father of everyone; in their scriptures the Messiah is not singled out with the exclusive title of “son.” In their usage the word “son” appears only as a designation for the chosen, honored servant, never for any of God’s attributes, and nowhere in the prophets’ writings is it said that one of God’s attributes was begotten of Him.

If this is the case, it follows that “the son” cannot be the pre-eternal Word of God which they claim was begotten from Him while still eternal, nor is “the Holy Spirit” God’s very life. Rather, “the son” refers to the Messiah’s nāsūt (human nature), and “the Holy Spirit” to the revelation sent down to him and the angel who brought it. Accordingly, he instructed them to believe in God, in His messenger, in what God had revealed to His messenger, and in the angel who delivered that revelation—precisely what every prophet was commanded to preach. The Messiah therefore possessed no unique quality that would entitle him to a share in divinity; rather, the light of God, the word of God, and the spirit of God shone through him just as they did through other prophets and messengers—for others likewise