Deity of the Holy Spirit

[Bubba]

We have been discussing of late the Deity of Jesus if He was or was not, but little has been written on the Holy Spirit. Dan Corner writes:

The Deity of The Holy Spirit
What about the deity of the Holy Spirit?...
In Exodus 17:2, 7 we read:

"So they quarreled with Moses and said, ‘Give us water to drink.' Moses replied, ‘Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the LORD [that is, Jehovah] to the test?' " ... "And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the LORD [that is, Jehovah] saying, ‘Is the LORD [or is Jehovah] among us or not?' "
Now this is referred to in the New Testament in Hebrews 3:9. I want you to see the comparison. In Hebrews 3:9 it is the Holy Spirit that is speaking from verse 7. In verse 9 the Holy Spirit is still speaking and he said, "where your fathers tested and tried me and for forty years saw what I did." So the Holy Spirit is the one they tested, but Exodus 17 says it was Jehovah. So the Holy Spirit must be Jehovah, or YHWH.

A second comparison is found in Jeremiah chapter 31:31-34. This is an Old Testament prophecy about the New Covenant, or the New Testament:

" ‘The time is coming,' declares the LORD, ‘when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,' declares the LORD. ‘This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,' declares the LORD. ‘I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, "Know the LORD," because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,' declares the LORD. ‘For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.' "
This is a prophecy in the Old Testament regarding the covenant that we're now under. Hebrews chapter 10:15-17 is where we need to go now. NOTE: The Holy Spirit is speaking:
"The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: ‘This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.' Then he adds: ‘Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.' "
So we see very clearly, by way of Old and New Testament comparisons, that this is again proof that the Holy Spirit is deity for the LORD is the one who forgives and remembers sins no more, yet the other passage says it's the Holy Spirit.

Another comparison would be Isaiah 6:8-10 and Acts 28:25-27. Please ponder these passages for yourself.

Is the Holy Spirit eternal, all-knowing, all-powerful and everywhere present? Let's look into the evidence.

Is he eternal? Hebrews 9:14 states that the Holy Spirit is indeed eternal. He's called the eternal Spirit.

Is he all-knowing? 1 Corinthians 2:10, 11 teach that the Holy Spirit is all-knowing. He knows everything:

"but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God."
So these verses show that the Holy Spirit is omniscient or all-knowing. Is he all powerful? Luke 1:35 teaches that he is. Is he everywhere present? Psalm 139:7, 8 teach that the Holy Spirit is everywhere present.

The Only Rational Conclusion Let me recap. The Holy Spirit is called God (Acts 5:3,4). The Holy Spirit, by way of comparisons between the Old and the New Testament, is shown to be deity (Ex. 17:2,7 cf. Heb. 3:9; Jer. 31:31-34 cf. Heb. 10:15-17; etc.) and the Holy Spirit is eternal, all-knowing, all-powerful and everywhere present. Therefore, Mr. and Mrs. Jehovah's Witness (or anyone else*), the only rational thing to conclude is, that the Bible teaches the Trinity even though the word itself is not found in the Bible. By the way, many words are not found in the Bible, but they are taught. The word bible is not in the Bible. The word millennium is not found in the Bible, but it is certainly taught several times at least in Revelation chapter 20. Just because the word is not there does not mean it's not taught. The Trinity is taught in the Bible.


*Bubba wrote

 

[Bubba]

Verses showing identity, ministry,
and personhood of the Holy Spirit from CARM



The Holy Spirit mentioned on equal level with God
Matt. 28:19, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,"
2 Cor. 13:14, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all."
Eph. 4:4-6, "There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all."
2 Cor. 3:16-18, "but whenever a man turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit."
Rom. 8:9, "However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him." See also Gen. 1:2

Spirit of ChristRom. 8:9, "However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him."

Spirit of your Father
Matt. 10:10, "For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you."

The Spirit of TruthJohn 14:17, "that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you." See also, John 15:26.

The Spirit of the Lord
Acts 8:39, "And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch saw him no more, but went on his way rejoicing." See also Judges 15:14; 1 Sam. 16:12

The Holy Spirit is referred to as a person by scripture
WhoRom. 8:11, "But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you."
John 6:63, "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life."
1 John 5:7, "And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is the truth."
See also 1 Cor. 2:12; 2 Tim. 1:14;

HeJohn 14:26, "These things I have spoken to you, while abiding with you. 26 "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.

HimselfRom. 8:16, "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,"
Rom. 8:26, "And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words"

Personhood of the Holy Spirit (has emotions, is aware, speaks, knows, etc.)GrievesIsaiah 63:10, "But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; Therefore, He turned Himself to become their enemy, He fought against them."
Eph. 4:30, "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption."

LovesRom. 15:30, "Now I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me."

Has a mindRom. 8:27, "and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God."

Speaks2 Sam. 23:1, "The Spirit of the LORD spoke through me; his word was on my tongue."
Acts 8:29, "And the Spirit said to Philip, "Go up and join this chariot."
Acts 10:19, "And while Peter was reflecting on the vision, the Spirit said to him, "Behold, three men are looking for you."
Acts 11:12, "And the Spirit told me to go with them without misgivings. And these six brethren also went with me, and we entered the man’s house."
Acts 13:2, "And while they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."
Acts 21:11, "And coming to us, he took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands, and said, "This is what the Holy Spirit says: ‘In this way the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’"
Acts 28:25, "And when they did not agree with one another, they began leaving after Paul had spoken one parting word, "The Holy Spirit rightly spoke through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers, 26saying, ‘Go to this people and say, "You will keep on hearing, but will not understand."
1 Tim. 4:1, "But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,"
Heb. 3:7-8, "Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, 'Today if you hear His voice, 8Do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me, as in the day of trial in the wilderness,"
Rev. 2:7, "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God." See also Rev. 2:11,17,29; 3:6,13,22.
Rev. 14:13, "And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, "Write, ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!’" "Yes," says the Spirit, "that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them."
Rev. 22:17, "And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come." And let the one who hears say, "Come." And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost."

Knows1 Cor. 2:11, "For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man, which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God."

Has an awareness of goodness
Acts 15:28, "For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials."

Can be lied toActs 5:3, "But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back some of the price of the land?"

Can be testedActs 5:9, "Then Peter said to her, 'Why is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test?'"

Makes overseers
Acts 20:28, "Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood."

Can be a witnessActs 5:32, "And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him."

Can be resistedActs 7:51, "You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit."
Activities of the Holy Spirit

TeachesJohn 14:26, "These things I have spoken to you, while abiding with you. 26 "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.
Luke 12:12, "for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say."

IntercedesRom. 8:26, "And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;"

Leads
Matt. 4:1, "Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil."

Gives life
John 6:63, "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life."

Filled byActs 2:4, "And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance."

Forms of the Holy Spirit
Dove
Matt. 3:16, "And after being baptized, Jesus went up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon Him."

Miscellaneous
Can be spoken against
Matt. 12:32, "And whoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in the age to come."

Can be baptized with the Holy Spirit
Mark 1:8, "I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

The Spirit is givenJohn 3:34, "For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives the Spirit without measure.

The Spirit is receivedJohn 20:22, "And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and *said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit."

The Spirit forbidsActs 16:6, "And they passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia."

The Spirit searches all things
1 Cor. 2:10, "For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.

The Spirit is the truth1 John 5:7, "And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is the truth."

 

[thessalonian]

I thought about posting something similar the other day but yours looks better than mine would have been.
I am interested in what those who hold arian views, denying the divinity of Christ, partially on the claim that it is tritheist (though they do not understand it) regarding whether the Holy Spirit is God.

So are they bitheist? :o

Thanks for posting.

Blessings

 

[Nocturnal_Principal_X]

In case people are not familiar with the words “tritheist†or “bitheist,†perhaps the following will be beneficial:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tritheism
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Tritheism is the belief that there are three equally powerful gods who form a triad. The gods are envisaged as having separate powers and separate supreme beings or spheres of influence but working together. In this respect Tritheism differs from Dualism, which typically envisages two opposed Divine powers in conflict with one another.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binitarianism
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Binitarianism is a theology of two in one God, as opposed to one (unitarianism) or three (trinitarianism). Classically, it is understood as strict monotheism  that is, that God is an absolutely single being; and yet there is a "twoness" in God. At times, this monotheism drifted toward a "twoness" of God: that is, two Beings in one "God family" that is in agreement with itself, composed of the Father and the Son.
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As for the doctrine known as the Trinity the following might be beneficial as well:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity
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Within Christianity, the doctrine of the Trinity states that God is a single Being who exists, simultaneously and eternally, as a communion of three persons (personae, prosopa): Father (the Source, the Eternal Majesty); the Son (the eternal Logos or Word, incarnate as Jesus of Nazareth); and the Holy Spirit (the Paraclete or advocate). Since the 4th Century AD, in both Eastern and Western Christianity, this doctrine has been stated as "One God in Three Persons," all three of whom, as distinct and co-eternal "persons" or " hypostases," share a single Divine essence, being, or nature.
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[thessalonian]

let's bump this. :-D

 

[thessalonian]

No takers among you anti-trinitarians. Ginger, you must have some extensive study in this area that you can share with us?

 

[Georges]

Great references....

How about proving it by the OT?

Don't see any Jewish references.......

Isa 11:2 is the Holy Spirit...it's the power and essence of God, nuf said.

 

[thessalonian]

George, do you reject the NT or what? What's wrong with NT refs? Ever heard of progressive revelation. God didn't dump it all on man at once. He did it over time with the fullness of revelation being Jesus Christ.

 

[Georges]

George, do you reject the NT or what? What's wrong with NT refs? Ever heard of progressive revelation. God didn't dump it all on man at once. He did it over time with the fullness of revelation being Jesus Christ.

Do I rejedt the NT? Not completely....Has it been edited? most assuredly....

Thess....the NT must be measured by the OT. If you can't prove the NT (ie. deity of a "thing" (HS)) by the OT, it's bogus....

Progressive revelation....know the concept....PR and Apostolic Succesion are the 2 things that have damaged Christianity I feel beyond repari. To claim PR, you must be able to prove it by conception in the OT. Heck, you/no one can claim the divinity of the HS in the NT....the unedited NT that is....it isn't there. The only 2 verses mentioning F,S, and HS in the same verse are known additions....

God gave all the tools for understanding in the OT.....Jesus did teach it perfectly.....Paul does not.....but there are those that claim that Paul's teaching supercedes both Jesus' and God's word claiming Progressive Revelation as the reason why Pauls word is as good as gold.

 

[thessalonian]

I love all these roll your own theologies on the board and ways people prop them up like deciding that the parts they don't like of scripture are edited and corrupted. If it doesn't fit my theology there must be something wrong with the passage seems to be your out. :o

 

[mutzrein]

Who is propping what up Thess? I don't take scriptures from all over the place, mix em up find the common denominator and hey presto we have another doctrine. But it sounds like something trinitarians do.

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. Not another person. Good grief, no wonder folks are so mixed up. Since they think each part of the trinity are co-equals they don't know who to worship and they don't know who to pray to. Makes me wonder if this is what it means by praying amiss.

 

[Sothenes]

George, do you reject the NT or what? What's wrong with NT refs? Ever heard of progressive revelation. God didn't dump it all on man at once. He did it over time with the fullness of revelation being Jesus Christ.

Do I rejedt the NT? Not completely....Has it been edited? most assuredly....

Thess....the NT must be measured by the OT. If you can't prove the NT (ie. deity of a "thing" (HS)) by the OT, it's bogus....

Joel 2:28 And it shall come to pass afterward, [that] I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:


Joel 2:29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.

The New Testament hasn't been edited, George. There is no proof of that anywhere.

 

[Sothenes]

George, do you reject the NT or what? What's wrong with NT refs? Ever heard of progressive revelation. God didn't dump it all on man at once. He did it over time with the fullness of revelation being Jesus Christ.

Do I rejedt the NT? Not completely....Has it been edited? most assuredly....

Thess....the NT must be measured by the OT. If you can't prove the NT (ie. deity of a "thing" (HS)) by the OT, it's bogus....

Joel 2:28 And it shall come to pass afterward, [that] I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:


Joel 2:29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.

The New Testament hasn't been edited, George. There is no proof of that anywhere.