The Person and work of the Holy Spirit (Conclusion)

From the heart of Dr. Robert L. Taylor, Th.D., Bible Teacher & Expositor. Scripture teaches, there is one and only one God, eternally existing and fully expressed in three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This is the Trinity of God. Each Person is equally God, each is eternally God, and each is fully God! They are not three gods but three Persons of the one God. Each Person is equal in essence as each possesses fully the identically same, eternal nature of God, yet each is also an eternal and distinct personal expression of the one undivided nature of God. The Holy Spirit, then, is fully God. A few years ago, I received a response from one of my readers. She said she was approached by some people claiming that the Holy Spirit was not God but simply the power of God, a force that God sent out into the world to accomplish His work. Were these people correct? Let’s examine some of the scriptural evidence. First of all, the Holy Spirit is a Person, not a force or power. Jesus said, “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me, and you will testify also, because you have been with Me from the beginning” (John 15:26-27). This is important to grasp. Scripture tells us that the Holy Spirit is a He. “He” is a personal pronoun. The Holy Spirit is a Person. He also does something in this verse that only persons can do. He testifies. According to Acts 13:2, the Holy Spirit speaks. He talks. He says something and gives instructions for what He wants to be done with Saul and with Barnabas. According to 1 Corinthians 2:10-11, the Holy Spirit knows things. He has a mind. According to Ephesians 4:30, the Holy Spirit can be grieved, which is an emotion. So, the Holy Spirit has emotions. According to 1 Corinthians 12:11, the Holy Spirit has a will. According to Isaiah 40:13–14, the Holy Spirit is all-knowing, just like the Father and the Son. According to Psalm 139:7–8, the Holy Spirit is everywhere at once. The psalmist cannot escape the Spirit no matter where he goes. According to John 14:16-17, the Holy Spirit is and only speaks the truth, just like Jesus—who is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6)—and just like the Father—who cannot lie, according to Hebrews 6:18. So, the Spirit is truth. Finally, the most clear passage where the Spirit is called God comes from Acts 5:3–5. A husband and wife, Ananias and Sapphira, come and they lie to the church about how much they’re giving. But Peter said they lied to the Holy Spirit. Later Peter said they lied to God. You see, the Holy Spirit is called “God” by Peter in this passage. Peter said that Ananias lied to the Holy Spirit and thus lied to God. Peter identifies the Spirit with God Himself. From the brief list of verses that we’ve investigated, it’s clear that Scripture teaches the Holy Spirit is God. He’s not the force or power of God. He is a Person distinct from the Father and the Son who exhibits the attributes of God and is called “God.” Be encouraged!