Why do I believe in the deity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit? Why do I believe in a triune God? Because Scripture forces me into this position. In order to combat the Trinity, many skeptics will say I am leaning on the teachings of certain fourth century councils. First, notice how this entire series has been dependent on Scripture the entire time, not creeds, councils, or catechisms. Second, why did certain councils come to the conclusion that God is triune? They also were forced into that position from Scripture. There is one God, who is known as Yahweh, and He exists in three distinct persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. When I study the Bible, it leads me to the conclusion that the Holy Spirit is God.
For our lesson on the Holy Spirit, just as we did with the Father and the Son, in this article, we will explore the biblical foundation of the deity of the Spirit, the role of the Spirit in the Trinity, and the role of the Spirit for the disciple.
Before that, however, we need to establish:
1. The Personhood of the Holy Spirit
Some groups and individuals tend to view God’s Holy Spirit as a mere thing or nonliving force. In the Bible, spirits are often treated as things or referred to as “it,” so it’s understandable that this perspective might initially be applied to the Holy Spirit. However, a closer examination of the Scriptures reveals that the Holy Spirit is described as the divine “He.”
There are nine facts that prove the Holy Spirit is not an it, but a He.
- The Holy Spirit can be blasphemed (Matthew 12:31–32).
- The Holy Spirit can be insulted (Hebrews 10:29).
- The Holy Spirit can grieve (Ephesians 4:30; Isaiah 63:10).
- The Holy Spirit can be lied to (Acts 5:3).
- The Holy Spirit can be resisted (Acts 7:51).
- The Holy Spirit has wisdom and intelligence (1 Corinthians 2:11).
- The Holy Spirit teaches with a will and an authority (Acts 13:2).
- The Holy Spirit radiates goodness (Psalm 143:10).
- The Holy Spirit shares in fellowship (2 Corinthians 13:14).
Can you blaspheme a thing, such as a lawnmower? Yes. But how much do your words affect it? And when was the last time your lawnmower grieved? Can you tell a lie to the wind? Sure, but what intelligence is present in the wind to discern truth from a lie?
During the final conversation Jesus had with His apostles before He was killed is laced with personal language applied to the Holy Spirit. Here is just a sample:
I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, 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 will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.
John 16:12–15
Because the Holy Spirit indeed worked miracles through the hands of many people in the Bible, if we are not careful, Lucas Films and the Jehovah’s Witnesses could influence us to treat God’s Holy Spirit as a force, and not Yahweh Himself. Where do we get the idea that the Holy Spirit is the living God? Let’s now study the…
2. Biblical Foundation of the Deity of the Holy Spirit
Most people are aware that the Bible calls Jesus the Son of God. Did you know that title points to the deity of the Holy Spirit? Mary was betrothed to Joseph when the angel came to her. He announced that she would give birth to a Son. If Joseph had conceived Jesus in her womb, Jesus truly would have been known as the son of Joseph. Of course, he didn’t. Jesus was miraculously conceived in the womb of a virgin.
Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” And the angel answered and said to her, ”The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.”
Luke 1:34–35
The Holy Spirit was the one to miraculously place the baby in Mary’s womb; therefore, in this sense, Jesus was the Son of the Holy Spirit. Yet the Bible calls Him the Son of God. Why? Because the Holy Spirit is God.
In Acts 5, when a man named Ananias was deceitful about some money he had donated, Peter said he had lied to the Holy Spirit (v. 3). Then, Peter followed that accusation up with, “Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God” (v. 4). Did Ananias lie to the Holy Spirit or to God? Yes.
This is similar to when the psalmist described how the Israelites had rebelled against and grieved the Most High God their Redeemer, whom he also called the Holy One of Israel in Psalm 78. However, describing the same attitude and behavior, Isaiah says this is rebellious and grievous to the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 63:10). Therefore, we conclude that when one rebels against and grieves the Holy Spirit, the Most High God takes it personally.
In the same way, we can conclude that Paul taught the deity of the Holy Spirit. In 1 Corinthians 12:18, he said that God placed every member of the body (the church) of Christ where He (God) saw fit. But just a few verses earlier, He said:
But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.
1 Corinthians 12:11
Paul believed that whatever the Holy Spirit willed and accomplished, God willed and accomplished. And so should we, for the Holy Spirit is God. As God, the Holy Spirit exhibits these five attributes of deity:
1. Eternality
The Holy Spirit has neither beginning nor end. He was busy during the creation of all things.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
Genesis 1:1–2
In Hebrews 9:14, the inspired writer says that Jesus offered Himself “through the eternal Spirit.” The Holy Spirit has neither beginning nor end. He is eternal.
2. Omnipotence
One of the words regularly associated with the Holy Spirit in the Bible is power. For example, when Jesus gave the apostles what is commonly called the Great Commission, He said:
You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
Acts 1:8
When prophets and apostles performed miracles and spoke revelation from God, they attributed the power to the Holy Spirit (see Micah 3:8 and Romans 15:19). Similarly, the author of Hebrews says the miracles that confirmed the works and words of Jesus were by the Holy Spirit.
God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will.
Hebrews 2:4
As the creator of universe, God the Spirit is all-powerful.
3. Infinitude
To be the creator, the Holy Spirit is not just immense. He is infinite.
But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I [Solomon] have built!
1 Kings 8:27
As we study the infinitude of the Holy Spirit, we must recognize He is boundless, immeasurable, and limitless.
“Can anyone hide himself in secret places,
Jeremiah 23:24
So I shall not see him?” says the LORD;
“Do I not fill heaven and earth?” says the LORD.
In a moment, we will see how these same qualities are applied directly to God’s Spirit. The ocean that extends far beyond the horizon cannot be measured by cups. Infinitely more so, the Holy Spirit’s presence, power, and knowledge cannot be qualified. Because He is infinite, He extends beyond all conceivable limits.
4. Omnipresence
When it comes to time, the Holy Spirit is eternal. When it comes to power, the Holy Spirit is omnipotent. When it comes to space, the Holy Spirit is omnipresent. Psalm 139:7–13 says:
Where can I go from Your Spirit? [verse 1 informs us that David is speaking to Yahweh here.]
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,”
Even the night shall be light about me;
Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.
For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
The womb, the depths of the sea, the abyss of space, even the realm of the dead—God’s Spirit will find you there. Of course, that should comfort the child of God. But the one in rebellion against Him should truly be terrified.
5. Omniscience
In the same psalm where David calls God’s Spirit Yahweh, he also says this about God’s—the Holy Spirit’s—knowledge:
O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
Psalm 139:1–4
You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.
You comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O LORD, You know it altogether.
You have hedged me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain it.
Paul was also enamored by the omniscience of God’s Holy Spirit when he said:
For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.
1 Corinthians 2:10–11
It’s obvious when you think about it. How many of your personal thoughts does your personal spirit know? All of them, of course! So, of all that God knows, how much does His Spirit also know? All of it. To say God is omniscient is to also say the Holy Spirit is omniscient.
3. The Role of the Holy Spirit in the Trinity
As God, of course, the Holy Spirit worked with the Father and the Son in creation. Genesis 1:2 says, “The Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” Additionally, we will briefly see five roles the Spirit has in the Trinity.
1. The Holy Spirit Searches the Mind of God
We just saw the Scripture that explains this. Being the Spirit of God, only He is qualified to truly search the “deep things of God.” In a moment, we will see how the Spirit’s role was to communicate God’s mind to human beings.
2. The Holy Spirit Bears Witness of God and His Message
Whenever the Bible expresses the primary purpose of miracles through the hands of men and women, it always says it was for the purpose of confirming the divine message that was being communicated. It was a testimony to the truthfulness of God. The author of Hebrews asks:
How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?
Hebrews 2:3–4
During His final hours with His apostles before His betrayal, arrest, trial, and crucifixion, Jesus told them:
But when the Helper [the Holy Spirit] comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.
John 15:26–27
Those miracles were not just stories on a page. They were historical events by the Holy Spirit that continue to confirm the message of God today.
3. The Holy Spirit Reveals God’s Truth
Multiple times in that conversation, Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as “the Spirit of truth,” meaning that everything the Holy Spirit revealed was a message from God and was true. When Paul proclaimed the message of the cross and how Jesus’ sacrifice brought both Jews and Gentiles together in the church, he said:
For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles—if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power.
Ephesians 3:1–7
The Ephesians had access to God’s truth by reading what the Holy Spirit had revealed. Since we too can read this message, we also have access to the truth of God. Jesus assured the apostles, “When He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13). Are you thankful to have God’s truth available to you, so you too can know the mind of God?
4. The Holy Spirit Convicts the World of Sin, Righteousness, and Judgment
During that same conversation, Jesus told the apostles:
Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper [the Holy Spirit] will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
John 16:7–11
Over the following months and years, the Holy Spirit equipped these men with an inspired message and confirming miraculous power that convicted people of sin, led them to repentance and righteousness, and prepared them for the judgment to come. Even today, when we meet Jesus and study the words inspired by the Holy Spirit, we too can be convicted of sin, righteousness, and judgment by the same Spirit.
5. The Holy Spirit Glorifies the Son
In the following verses, Jesus told the apostles:
I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, 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 will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.
John 16:12–15
Just as we saw Jesus glorify the Father on multiple occasions, the Spirit’s role is to glorify the Son. Notice how you and I are placed into all of this.
God also has highly exalted Him [Jesus] and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:9–11
The Spirit reveals the truth of who Jesus is. We just read some of it through His work through the apostles in the New Testament. Through the conviction of the truth the Holy Spirit revealed in Scripture, we confess Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father. That leads us to the final point:
4. The Role of the Holy Spirit for Disciples
Many Christians have expressed their concern that churches often seem to underemphasize the Holy Spirit. How the Holy Spirit works and how that has changed over time is sometimes difficult to understand. Because of that, just as with any topic that takes work to understand, false teachers have taken advantage of people’s ignorance of who the Holy Spirit is and what He does. While speaking on the topic of the day of the Lord, Peter said this:
Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures. You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.
2 Peter 3:14–18
Peter—an apostle of Jesus Christ—admitted that parts of Scripture are difficult to understand. When that is the case, the untaught and unstable twist Scripture to their own destruction. Since this is the case, what should we do? Peter said that we ought to beware and “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” How can you grow in knowledge? Study His word. How can you grow in grace? One way is to be patient, depend on Him, and don’t be hasty in your conclusions. Instead, depend on His patience as you keep working through it.
By studying the immense topic of the Holy Spirit from Scripture, you can find twelve roles the Holy Spirit has for the disciple. Some of these roles are also fulfilled by the Father and the Son, so they are not all exclusive to the Holy Spirit. And some of them He does differently for different people. For example, many of the promises we studied about the Holy Spirit in John 14, 15, and 16, Jesus gave directly to the apostles. They don’t directly apply to me. However, I still benefit from them, and some of them do apply indirectly to me. How can I know which ones do? I need to diligently study. I can begin by asking with every passage of Scripture: “Who is speaking?” and “To whom is that person speaking?”
The commitment to study deeply is especially important with the following points, since we are not going to dig into them in this article. We will simply list them off (with Scripture reference for you to study). I have, however, gone a bit deeper in my book Clouded by Emotion: Studies on the Holy Spirit and Miracles. We may also dive deeper with future articles and videos, so be sure to sign up.
So what has been or what is the role of the Holy Spirit in the disciple’s life?
- The Holy Spirit comforts (Acts 9:31).
- The Holy Spirit appoints (Acts 20:28).
- The Holy Spirit dwells in the body of Christ, the church (this is an example of something the Father and the Son also do for the disciple; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19; cf. John 14:23).
- The Holy Spirit guides and directs (John 16:12–13).
- The Holy Spirit intercedes (Romans 8:26–27).
- The Holy Spirit searches the depths of God (1 Corinthians 2:10).
- The Holy Spirit strengthens (Ephesians 3:14–16).
- The Holy Spirit speaks and teaches (Revelation 2:7).
- The Holy Spirit empowers (Acts 1:8).
- The Holy Spirit sanctifies and transforms (1 Peter 1:2).
- The Holy Spirit provides gifts to God’s people (1 Corinthians 12:11).
- The Holy Spirit seals those who belong to God (Ephesians 1:13–14).
Going back to the first point, many people claim that the Holy Spirit is simply God’s force, or some thing. If that’s the case, then why does the Bible constantly show us how the Holy Spirit interacts with the other members of the godhead, as well as disciples?
The study of the Holy Spirit is rich and worth your time, effort, and energy. The identity, work, and integrity of the Spirit is so important to Jesus that He said to some Pharisees and scribes one day:
Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation”—because they said, “He has an unclean spirit.”
Mark 3:28–30
That is a serious warning. The question is, have you committed this unforgivable sin? If you’re ready to study that question, we recommend this article.