I Believe in the Holy Spirit

The Bible from the very beginning to the very last page is full of references to the Holy Spirit of God. In Genesis 1:2 we are informed that "The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters." Revelation 22:17 tells us the "The Spirit and the Bride say 'Come!'"

There is no doubt at all that the Holy Spirit plays an important role in Scripture. But what, or who, is the Holy Spirit. In a recent discussion in the newsgroup "uk.religion.christian" somebody asked the question "Is the Holy Spirit a person or a force." The first answer was simply "force", but that was from a Christadelphian and was, therefore to be expected. What surprised me was that no-one insisted upon the word "person". One answer was "Well I'd call it spirit myself, hence the name Holy Spirit." I felt that the revealing word here was "IT".

There are places in the Bible when the Holy Spirit is referred to as "it" but this is partly because the word spirit in Greek is in the neuter gender.

Jesus often used the pronouns "he", "him" and "himself" when referring to the Holy Spirit. Moreover the Holy Spirit is spoken of as having personal attributes. He can be grieved or vexed, tempted, lied to, resisted, insulted and blasphemed. He speaks, instructs, convicts, calls, directs, and he gives gifts. He is given names like "Advocate" and "Comforter".

According to Romans 8:27 he has mind. "And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will."

I Corinthians 12:11 tells us that he has will. "But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will." (AV)

Romans 15:30, among other texts, shows that he has emotions. "I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me."

It is, therefore, perfectly reasonable to refer to the Holy Spirit, not as a force or an influence but as a Person in the same sense that the Father and the Son are Persons.

His Deity

Having established that the Holy Spirit is personal, what relationship does he bear to God the Father and to Jesus?

He is clearly associated with the Father and the Son

In Matthew 28:19 we discover that Father, Son and Holy Spirit are treated equally. "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." This seems to show that whatever is true of the relationship between Father and Son is equally true of the Spirit. Jesus appears to be very clearly implying that just as he is co-eternal with the Father so also is the Holy Spirit and that together they form the triune Godhead.

2 Corinthians 13:14 "May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all." This verse, and others like it, clearly continue that indication that the Holy Spirit is in the same relation to the Father as is the Son.

There are several verses in John 14 and 15 which clearly indicate that, just as the Father sent the Son so he will send the Spirit.

When Jesus, himself, was baptised, the voice of the Father was accompanied with the symbol of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove.

It is also arguable that in 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 we see the same three persons working together in the Church.
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit.
There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.
There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.

Here we see the Spirit mentioned first, then the Lord whom we serve, Jesus, and then God, the Father who works his grace in us.

He is ascribed Divine Attributes

He is called God. In Acts 5:3-4 Ananias is accused of lying to the Holy Spirit, then it is reworded as lying to God. The implication is that the Holy Spirit is God.

He is eternal. Hebrews 9:14, as well as mentioning all three persons as working together also refers to the Holy Spirit as Eternal.

He is omnipotent. The Holy Spirit is referred to as the Power of the Most High in Luke 1:35.

He is omniscient. John 14:26 says that the Holy Spirit will teach all things and John 16:12-13 says he will guide in all things. 1 Cor. 2:10 tells us that "The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God."

He is omnipresent. Psalm 139:7-10 tells us, in the most exquisite poetry, that there is nowhere we could go that the Spirit of God will not find us there.

He is distinguished from Father and Son.

There are many who would like to suggest that the Holy Spirit is simply an expression of the Father or of the Son. This does not seem so according to the Scriptures.

At Jesus' Baptism the Spirit descended, as a dove, on the Son at the voice of the Father. The three persons are seen here as distinct persons. (Luke 3:21-22)

In the words Jesus used to command us also to baptise he used the three names distinctly, the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (Matt 28:19)

Jesus, the Son, prayed to the Father to send the Holy Spirit in John 14:16-26 and in John 15:26 Jesus says he will send the Holy Spirit from the Father.

Ephesians 2:18 tells us that we have access through Jesus to the Father by the Holy Spirit.

We therefore have sufficient evidence of the divinity and the personality of the Holy Spirit.

There is much more that can be said, that needs to be said, about the Holy Spirit and his work in creation, in the church and in the salvation and sustenance of the individual Christian, but those things must await a further opportunity and another article.