The deity of the Holy Spirit  is a subject often  taken for granted in the evangelical community but on what basis do we do this?

Questions: Does the Old and New Testament define a clear perspective on the deity of the Holy Spirit?
                Are there obvious example of names, symbols and motifs that demand our attention and give us a clear picture of
                    who the Holy Spirit is?
               Can we show with any certainty that the Holy Spirit has a relationship to both the Father, the Son and to the human
                    spirit?

     I believe that we can! I will attempt to show that both the Old and New Testaments together reveal the Holy Spirit to be wholly God, with a distinct personality and that the Holy Spirit relates to and is in relationship with God the Father, God the Son and God's creation, man.

     Let's begin with an examination of the Old Testament's view of the Holy Spirit.  We must remember that the ancient Hebrews were monotheistic.

Question: What is monotheism? Give one verse which shows this to be true.

               It is that they believed in ONE God. (Deut. 6:4) For the Old Testament Hebrew, YHWH was God and God alone. Yet is seems that the ancient Hebrews had a developing  awareness of  God's Spirit.

     The Hebrew word for 'Spirit'  has in it's meaning the ideas of breath and wind.

Action:  read Gen. 2:7

     The Hebrews would have understood  Gen. 2:7 to mean that the very power of God which gives life was in the breath , the Ruach of  God.

    The Spirit's association with the power of God is further seen in the following:

Action: Look Up

 Ps. 19:1 'the Hand of God', Ps. 33:6 'the Word of God', Ex. 28:3 'the Wisdom of God' ,Gen. 8:1 'the Wind of God' ,
 Isa. 4:4 'the Spirit of judgment', Zech. 12:10 'the Spirit of grace and supplication',
 Isa. 11:2 'the Spirit of the Lord, of wisdom, of counsel and might, of knowledge and of the fear of   the Lord'.
 Ps. 51  speaks of the 'spirit of the Lord' as something that can be taken away from you.
 Judges 3:10  sees the 'Spirit of the Lord' as something that can be placed upon  you.

      All of which seems to point to the Hebrews viewing God's Spirit as an 'it' rather than to a 'person'.

     The other major  way the Holy Spirit is represented in the Old Testament is with His association to prophecy.
This begins in Numbers 11:17 and is further developed until it reaches it height  in the Prophets.

     The prophets saw the Holy Spirit as the one who inspired prophecy  (Ez. 3:1-4, 22-24; Haggai 2:5; Zech. 4:6) .
     They also saw the eschatological purpose of the Spirit in prophecy as seen in (Isa. 4:4; 32:15).

     It seems safe to say that the early Hebrews associated the Spirit of God with His power and with His prophetic  ministry and not as a distinct personality within the Godhead.

Question:  What do you think? Do you agree or disagree?

     However, as God continued to reveal Himself to His people, I believe that they began to see the Holy Spirit as more than just the 'Power of God' but I personally do not believe they ever had what we would call a Trinitarian  view of the Holy Spirit. Yet the divinity and personality of the Holy Spirit is  taught or at least alluded to in the Old Testament.  Let's examine this idea.

     With respect to the divinity of the Holy Spirit , both Hodges  and Erickson  state that works  and attributes associated with God in the Old Testament are similarly associated with the Holy Spirit.
Works such as
      -creation (Gen. 1:2, Job 26:13, Ps. 104:30),
      -sustaining life (Ps. 104:29-30;  Isa. 32:15),
      -judgment (Isa. 4:4)
      -and grace (Zech. 12:10),
           are associated with both the workings of the Holy Spirit and to God.
Attributes such as
     -omnipresence  is attributed to both God and His Spirit (Ps. 139:7-10).
     -Holiness which is attributed to  God  is also associated with  the Spirit of God (Ps. 51:11; Isa. 63:10).

     Logic would lead us to conclude that it he looks like God and acts like God, it must be God. Yet the Hebrews monotheistic view would be a hindrance to them believing the Spirit of God as God.

     Since it seems that the Old Testament saints viewed the Spirit of God as a holy power emanating from God Himself  associated with the works of God and with prophecy, you might think that there is nothing in the Old Testament that would talk about the 'personality' of the Holy Spirit, that which moves the Spirit of God for an 'it' to a 'He'.

     But we do find examples in the Old Testament where the Spirit of God is shown to have a personality. Hodges and Erickson  states that Scriptures clearly teach that He, the Holy Spirit, is a person.

Question: What constitutes personality?

         Hodges states that personality includes intelligence, will and individual subsistence.  Isa. 11; 42:1-5; 63:10-14  show us that the Holy Spirit, God's Spirit has wisdom, gives counsel, can cause one to fear the Lord, is righteous and does justice.

Question: Are not these all attributes of a person and not a thing?

         In Neh. 9:20 goodness is associated with the Spirit of God
         In Ps. 106:33 man can rebel against the Holy Spirit.
              Both of these verses show that the Holy Spirit is a person because these attributes and actions cannot be associated with an 'it'.

     We have seen that the Old Testament  provides us with a picture of the Spirit of God as being divine and personal.  Although to say that the Old Testament alone  is proof that the Holy Spirit is a member of the Godhead is difficult to prove. However, the New Testament sheds light on this subject that makes much of what is said about the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament clearer as to the deity and personhood of the Spirit.

     The subject of the divinity and personhood of the Holy Spirit as seen in the New Testament has had little dispute since the times of the early church.

    The Holy Spirit's divinity can be seen in that  the language of God is quoted as the language  of the Holy Spirit.

Action: Read Acts  28:25 and Heb. 10:15

      -Acts 28:25 shows Paul quoting Isaiah and attributes what was said by God  to the Holy Spirit.
      -Heb. 10:15 quotes Jeremiah 31:31,33,34 and attributes what God has said to the Holy Spirit.

         Erickson sees various references to the Holy Spirit as interchangeable with references to God as being further proof of the divinity of the Holy Spirit.

         -Acts 5 describes the story of Ananias and Sapphira. They are accused of lying to the Holy Spirit in verse 3 and to God in the next verse. These are parallel verses in the Greek text and show that the two, God and the Holy Spirit, are one.

     In the New Testament we find the divine names of God are ascribed to the Holy Spirit.
         -Acts 5:3-4 the Holy Spirit is called God.
         -2 Cor. 3:18 the Holy Spirit is called Lord.

 We  also find further that attributes usually  describing God are ascribed to the Holy Spirit.
         -Heb. 9:14 speaks of the eternal Holy Spirit,
         -Luke 1:35 speaks of the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit
         -1 Cor. 2:10-11 shows the omniscience of the Holy Spirit.
         -Rom. 8:11 shows that the Holy Spirit imparts life.
         -Jn. 3:5-8 shows that the Holy Spirit is involved in regeneration.
         -2 Peter 1:21 shows that the Holy Spirit is the divine author of prophecy and Scripture.

      It is evident that the New Testament clearly show the Holy Spirit as being divine. The New Testament  works alongside what was revealed in the Old Testament to prove the Divine nature of the Holy Spirit, I believe, beyond any doubt.

     Not only is the Holy Spirit divine but He is distinctly personal. Hodges and Erickson  once again, state that personality includes intelligence, will and individual subsistence. The New Testament is full of examples where these attributes are present to describe the Holy Spirit.
     -Personal characteristics such as intelligence, will, mind, love, and grief are all ascribed to the Holy Spirit. (1 Cor. 2:10-11;
        1 Cor. 12:11; Rom. 8:27; Eph. 4:30)
     -Personal acts are also ascribed to the Holy Spirit in the New Testament which further prove His personality.
     -He searches the deep things of God (1 Cor. 2:10) He speaks. (Rev. 2:7)
     -He cries. (Gal. 4:6) He makes intercession. (Rom. 8:26)
     -He calls and commissions men. (Acts 13:2; 20:28)

     The Holy Spirit's personality is further proved in the New Testament in that He can receive personal treatment from others.
          -He can be rebelled against. (Heb. 10:29) He can be lied to. (Acts 5:3-4)
          -He can be blasphemed. (Mt. 12:31-32) He can be sinned against. (Mk. 3:29)

     A point can also be made of the personality of the Holy Spirit by the use of grammar in the New Testament.  The word  pneu'ma in the Greek is the English word 'Spirit'. This word in the Greek is neuter and should have a neuter pronoun  associated with it since they must agree in gender, number and case. However, we find that a masculine pronoun is given to the word  pneu'ma. (John 16:13-14)

     Also of important interest is the personal  and relative pronouns used to describe the Holy Spirit. I, He, My, Me are all used in reference to the Holy Spirit and show His personality. (Acts 13:2;  John 15:26; John 26:13-14)

     Finally, we see in the New Testament that the Holy Spirit is given personal names, Just as in the Old Testament. The Holy Spirit is called
         'The Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus' (Rom. 8:2), 'The Spirit of adoption' (Rom. 8:15),
         'The Holy Spirit of Promise' (Eph. 1:13-14), 'The Eternal Spirit' (Heb. 9:14)
         'The Comforter' (John 14:16) 'The Spirit of Truth' (John 14:17)
         'The Spirit of God' (Mt. 3:16), 'The Spirit' (Mt. 4:1), 'The Holy Spirit' (Lk. 1:15),
         'The Spirit of the Lord' (Lk. 4:18).

    Personal names are not given like this to inanimate objects.

     It is important to note that Jesus Himself considered the Holy Spirit a person. In John 14:16 Jesus said that He would send another 'helper' ' comforter' 'paraklhton' . Jesus ,Himself , was the first paraklhton and now this other comforter will come after He, Jesus, is gone. He will dwell in the believers and guide them in to all truth.

     The New Testament clearly shows that the Holy Spirit is both divine and a distinct personality.

     I believe that it is the New Testament which clearly states the divinity, personhood and position of the Holy Spirit as a person of the Godhead. This is especially seen in His relationship with the other two persons of the Godhead., God the Father and God the Son.

First there is
     -equality in the Godhead as seen in the various benedictions (2 Cor. 13:14; Rev. 1:4-6)
    -the formula of baptism (Matt. 28:19) found in the Bible.

    New Testament passages which also attest to the Holy Spirit's personhood in the Trinity are :
        (1Thess.1:4-5;  2 Thess. 2:13; 1 Cor. 1:4-7; Eph. 4:4-6).

     The Holy Spirit is God and as a person in the Godhead, has relationship with God the Father and God the Son.

Question: How does the HS relate to the other members of the Godhead. What is His role?

         Hodges said that the Spirit's relationship to the Godhead is that He is the executive of the Godhead. That is, whatever God does, He does  by the Holy Spirit.
        Erickson states that the Holy Spirit's relationship to both the Father and the Son , during this present time, is to carry out their will, which is also His will. He states that just as the Son was subordinate to the Father during His earthly ministry, the Holy Spirit is subordinate to both the Father and the Son during His earthly ministry.
         Fee (God's Empowering Presence) has stated that the apostle Paul saw the Holy Spirit as 'both the interior expression of the unseen God's personality and the visible manifestation of God's activity in the world'. Fee continues to say that the Holy Spirit carries on the work of Jesus following His resurrection and assumption to heaven with God the Father.

Question: Do you agree with these statement about how the HS relates to the other  persons of the Godhead?

     I would agree with all three men, Hodges, Erickson and Fee, in that I see the Holy Spirit as God the Father and God the Son's agent, His emissary in the world today. I would agree that He carries on the ministry began by God at creation, fulfilled in Christ at the cross and is in the process of completing now through the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers.
 I also understand that the Holy Spirit was active and present at all times during this process. I understand that all persons in the Godhead act as one and at no time do any act independently of the other, for what is the will of God is the will of both the Son and the Spirit.

     It is in the continuing ministry of carrying out the will of God the Father and God the Son that man has his relationship with the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised that He would never leave us and gave us the Holy Spirit. Man's relationship with God the Father and God the Son has never been closer since Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came to dwell in man.

     We have access to God the Father, and God the Son in a way we never had before, we truly have EMMANUEL, God with us! The Spirit is none other than the fulfillment of the promise that God Himself would once again be present with His people.'  The Holy Spirit's relationship with man is as the third person of the Godhead. He is God dwelling in  regenerate man and He carries out the plan of God  the Father and God the Son for our lives until we are united with Him in heaven for all eternity.
 
 

 

Erickson, Millard J. Christian Theology. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House  1983
Ewell, Walter A. Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House 1984
Fee, Gordon D. God's Empowering Presence. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc. 1994
Green, Joel B., McNight, Scot and Marshall, Howard. Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels.
        Downers Grove: Inter Varsity Press. 1992
Grenz, Stanley. "The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament" Discipleship Journal 16 #1 (Jan/Feb 1996) : 45
Harris, R. Laird, Archer, Gleason L. and Waltke, Bruce . Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament.
        Chicago: Moody  Press. 1980
Hawthorne, Gerald F., Martin, Ralph P.,and Reid, Daniel G. Dictionary of Paul and His Letters .
        Dowers Grove: Inter Varsity Press. 1993
Hodges, Charles. Systematic Theology. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdamns Publishing Co. 1989
LaSor, William,  Hubbard, David Allan and Bush, Frederic Wm. Old Testament Survey. Grand Rapids:
        Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.  1982