WHY CHRISTIANS BELIEVE IN THE PERSON AND DEITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

 The Bible begins with these two verses:

    Genesis 1:1-2 - In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.  And the earth was without form, and void; and the darkness was upon the face of the deep.  And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

 There are four things that can be observed from this passage.  (1)  God created all things, so He cannot be a created thing Himself.  (2)  All created things must have a beginning and are finite.  Since God is not a created thing, then He is infinite and eternal.  (3)  There are two persons active as the Creator in these verses, God and the Spirit of God.  The Holy Spirit’s personal distinction is seen in the prepositional phrase “the Spirit of God.”  (4)  Hence, the Spirit of God (the Holy Spirit) is coequal with God as the Creator in eternity. 

 The Bible opens with the doctrine of God’s existence independent of creation.  The activity of the Father (Genesis 1:1), the Son (John 1:3), and the Holy Spirit (Genesis 1:2) in creation forms a basis for the coequality of three Persons in one God (the Trinity).  When Christians refer to the Holy Spirit as the third person of the Trinity, it has nothing to do with degree or rank.  He is called the third person of the Trinity only to distinguish His person from the Father and Son.  

The Person of the Holy Spirit

When we speak of the “person” of the Holy Spirit, we must clearly state that “person” does not mean a “material body,” since we’ve seen in Genesis that the Holy Spirit is uncreated and is eternal.  By “person,” we mean the qualities that determine a personal nature (intelligence, emotion, will and mind) reside in the Holy Spirit.  These personal characteristics cannot be found in non-personal entities.  The Holy Spirit, then, is not a mere influence, force, or power.  He has the distinctive characteristics of personal beingness.

Intelligence:  John 14:26; 1 Corinthians 2:10

Emotion:  Romans 15:30 (love); Ephesians 4:30

Will:  1 Corinthians 12:11

Mind:  Romans 8:27

The Holy Spirit is addressed as a person in the Old Testament.  He speaks and He is identified with a personal pronoun.

2 Samuel 23:2 -- His Word was on my tongue.

Isaiah 40:13-14 -- Who has taught Him?

Ezekiel 11:1-2, 5 -- He, The Spirit of the Lord, spoke.

The Holy Spirit’s person can be further demonstrated by examining the pronouns applied to Him.  Even though the word “Spirit” in the Greek New Testament is a neuter noun, it is often used with a masculine demonstrative pronoun.  This emphasizes the personality of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus spoke of the Holy Spirit by using the masculine pronouns He and Him.  The Greek word “ekeinos” is used as a demonstrative pronoun throughout John 14, 15 and 16.  The masculine noun “paraklete”, for Helper (Comforter, KJV), is also used throughout these chapters for the Holy Spirit.  Let us examine His personal nature in these verses:

             John 14:16-17 -- And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Helper (parakleton), that He may abide with you forever-- the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knowes Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

            John 14:26 -- But the Helper (parakletos), the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He (ekeinos) will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

            John 15:26 -- But when the Helper (parakletos) comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth who proceeds from the Father, He (ekeinos) will testify of me.

            John 16:7-8 – Nevertheless I tell you the truth.  It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper (parakletos) will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.  And when He (ekeinos) has come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.

            John 16:13-14 -- However, when He (ekeinos), the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.  He (ekeinos) will glorify me, for He will take of what is mine and declare it to you. 

  The Holy Spirit speaks of Himself in first person singular, as “me” and “I”.

            Acts 10:19-20 -- While Peter thought about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are seeking you.  Arise therefore, go down and go with them, doubting nothing; for I have sent them.”

            Acts 13:2 -- ...the Holy Spirit said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work unto which I have called them.

  The Holy Spirit spoke with His own voice from Heaven.

            Revelation 14:13 -- Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: `Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’”  “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.”

            Revelation 22:17 -- And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!”  And let him who hears say, “Come!”  And let him who thirsts come.  Whoever desires let him take the water of life freely.

The Holy Spirit’s work is uniquely what only God does:

He works miracles:  Acts 8:39

He teaches:  Nehemiah 9:20; John 14:26

He speaks:  John 16:14; Acts 13:2; Revelation 2:7

He hears:  John 16:13

He intercedes:  Romans 8:26

He inspires:  2 Peter 1:21

He convicts of sin:  John 16:8

The Holy Spirit responds only as a Person does:

He can be blasphemed:  Matthew 12:31

He can be lied to:  Acts 5:3

He can be grieved:  Isaiah 63:10; Ephesians 4:30

He can be resisted:  Acts 7:51; 1 Thessalonians 5:19

The Holy Spirit is not merely a power, since He is distinguished from power.

            Acts 10:38 -- “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power.”

            Romans 15:13 --  Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

            1 Corinthians 2:4 -- And my speech and by preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.

  The Holy Spirit shows personal interactions with other persons:

            Matt. 28:19 -- His relationship to the Father and Son in this verse is one of equality.

            John 14:26 -- When Jesus used “another Comforter” to describe the Holy Spirit, He was saying that the Holy Spirit was the same as He was.  The word “another” in the Greek is “allon” which denotes “another of the same kind.”  Whereas, if “heteros” was used, it would mean “another of a different kind.” 

            Acts 15:28 -- His relationship to the Apostles shows a personal relationship.

            2 Corinthians 13:14 -- The only way that we can have fellowship with the Holy Spirit is if He is a person.

  Can anyone truly deny that the Holy Spirit is a person?  There are some who attempt to do so, but without biblical justification.  The above references are not mere figures of speech.  They are not personifications of a force or energy.  The Holy Spirit is a personal being and He is God.  No impersonal entity can possess intellect, emotion, will and mind.

  The Holy Spirit is GOD

  It is clearly taught in the Bible that there is only One True God.  Specific attributes belong uniquely to God and nobody else.  If the Scriptures show us that there are three Persons who are called God, and that all three Persons have the unique attributes of the True God, then we must conclude that these three Persons are the true God.  The Father, Son and Holy Spirit co-equally share the attributes and nature of God.

  The Holy Spirit is called God in these passages:

            2 Samuel 23:2-3 -- Here the Holy Spirit is called the God of Israel.

            Acts 5:3-4 -- In these verses it is seen that the Holy Spirit was lied to, and it was not man who was lied to, but it was God.

            1 Corinthians 6:19-20 -- It is the Holy Spirit who is in you, yet it is God who is in you.

            2 Timothy 3:16 with 2 Peter 1:20 -- The Holy Spirit inspires Scripture, because He is God.

  The Holy Spirit has the unique attributes of the True God:

Creator:  Genesis 1:2; Job 33:4; Psalm 104:30

Omnipotent:  Luke 1:35-37 (He is called the Power of the Highest)

Omnipresent:  Psalm 139:7-10

Omniscient:  Ezekiel 11:5; Isaiah 40:13; 1 Corinthians 2:10

Eternal:  Hebrews 9:14

The Holy Spirit is Jehovah:

Bible students do not question that Jehovah (or Yahweh) is the only true God.  Yet some are surprised that the Holy Spirit is shown to be Jehovah from the Old Testament.  In the following references we find Old Testament quotations applied to the Holy Spirit in the New Testament.  Jehovah was speaking in the Old Testament, but in the New Testament His identity is the Holy Spirit.

Exodus 32:9 with Acts 7:51

Isaiah 6:8-10 with Acts 28:25

Jeremiah 31:33-34 with Hebrews 10:15-16

The Holy Spirit is Elohim:

The most frequently occurring Hebrew noun for God in the Old Testament is Elohim.  This is applied to the Holy Spirit in the following passages.

Psalm 95:7 with Hebrews 3:7-11

The Holy Spirit is Lord:

The Holy Spirit’s Deity is seen in His union with the Father and the Son.  The Bible teaches that there is One Lord, (Ephesians 4:5), and all three Person of the Trinity are called Lord.

The Father is called Lord (Matthew 11:25).

The Son is called Lord (1 Corinthians 8:6).

The Holy Spirit is called Lord (2 Corinthians 3:17).

The Holy Spirit is coequal with the Father and Son:

The equality of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is seen in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

The Father resurrected Christ (Galatians 1:1).

The Son resurrected Himself (John 2:18-22; 10:17-18).

The Holy Spirit resurrected Christ (2 Pet. 3:18).

The equality of all three Persons is seen in the baptismal formula of Matt. 28:19 and in the sending of the Messiah in Isaiah 48:16.

The Holy Spirit shares God’s unique attributes:

The Holy Spirit’s nature as God is seen in a comparison of the attributes and titles of Jehovah God with the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is truly a person and is truly God.  To deny either is to deny the uniformity of the Scriptures.  Those who deny His person and His deity have traded the truth for “another spirit” (2 Corinthians 11:4), which other spirit Paul warned us about.  Denial of the Holy Spirit’s person and deity is disobedience to biblical truth.

The testimony of the Scripture is overwhelming that the Holy Spirit is a person and that He is God. Let not deceivers persuade you with a counterfeit Holy Spirit.  The New Testament gives us the complete picture of the Holy Spirit.  He is not an influence, force, or power.  He is the Third Person of the Trinity who was sent by the Father and the Son to abide with us forever--John 14:16.                         

Compiled by Kurt Van Gorden, Copyright 1985, revised 2000: Jude 3 Missions. This edition published by permission of Jude 3 Missions, PO Box 780, Victorville, CA 92393-0780 

back to CULTS