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TEEN TREE OF LIFE
The Doctrine of
The Deity of
The Holy Spirit
Part 3
October 2, 2016
BEFORE we begin, if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, take a moment to name your sins to God the Father. This will allow you to be filled with the power of The Holy Spirit as you read this booklet (EPH 5:18 & 1JO 1:9). IF YOU HAVE never believed in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you have that opportunity right now. Simply tell God the Father that you are believing on His Son Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. If you make that decision, you are now a believer and will always be a child of God! When you die, you will spend eternity with Him forever in heaven! (JOH 3:16 & ACT 16:31).
In our study of The Deity of The Holy Spirit, we are focusing on His Personality. The Holy Spirit is Identified with The Father and The Son – and, indeed, with Christians – in such a way as to indicate He has a Personality. Let’s suppose that in MAT 28:19, we read, "Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the wind or breath." Would that sound right? If the first two names are personal, isn’t the third? Note also: "In the name" (singular), not names (plural), implying that all three are Persons equally. 2COR13:14 also backs up this argument: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.
Now let’s look at the Personal Characteristics ascribed to The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is represented as searching the deepest and profoundest truths of God and possessing knowledge of His Counsels sufficiently to understand His Purposes: For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. 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. (1CO 2:10-11) Could a mere influence do this?
Spiritual gifts are distributed to believers according to The Will of the Spirit. (See 1CO 12) Here we learn about wisdom, prudence and discretion, all of which are distinguishing marks of personality. The Spirit not only bestows spiritual gifts, but bestows them discreetly, according to what He Thinks is best.
The Spirit is said to have a mind, and that implies thought, purpose, and determination: … 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. (ROM 8:27) Mind is an attribute of personality. In other words, you can’t have a mind and not have a personality.
Throughout the Bible, personal acts are ascribed to The Holy Spirit. He speaks in 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.”
The Spirit makes intercession for us: 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… (ROM 8:26) His Equality with Jesus Chris is revealed in HEB 7:25: Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. In this verse, Jesus Christ is the one who makes intercession.
Let’s look at three verses which shed additional light on the Personal Characteristics of The Holy Spirit. 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.” (ACT 13:2) They passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia… (ACT 16:6) Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you [a]overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He [b]purchased [c]with His own blood. (ACT 20:28) In these passages, The Holy Spirit is seen calling missionaries, overseeing the church, and commanding the life and practice of the apostles and the whole church. Such acts indicate personality.
The Bible also teaches us that The Holy Spirit is susceptible to Personal Treatment. He may be grieved according to EPH 4:30: Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. The word "grieve," here means pain or sorrow. It is the opposite of joy. We can do and say things that hurt or grieve the Holy Spirit’s Feelings. This verse is just one of many instances where we find God letting us know about the way He desires for us to live so that we can experience a full life in The Spirit. Many of us like to talk about the Gifts of The Spirit, and The Power of the Spirit, but we neglect to talk about The Presence of the Spirit (in us) that is necessary to transform our hearts and our hearts’ desires so that we can be used by Him to forward His Work through us.
The Holy Spirit can also be insulted according to HEB 10:29: How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? (ACT 5:3) teaches us that He can be lied to: 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? And according to MAT 12:31-32, He can be blasphemed: “Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.” Indeed, the sin against The Holy Spirit is a much more grievous matter than the sin against the Son of Man. Can such be said of a mere influence? Can it be said even of any man?
When we talk about the Deity of The Holy Spirit, we mean that The Holy Spirit is God. This fact is clearly set forth in the Scriptures, in a five-fold way.
The first way is that Divine Names are given to The Holy Spirit. For example, in ACT 5:4, The Spirit is called God: Peter said, “Ananias, how did Satan get you to lie to the Holy Spirit and secretly keep back part of the price of the field? Before you sold it, it was all yours, and after you sold it, the money was yours to do with as you wished. So what got into you to pull a trick like this? You didn’t lie to men but to God.” (The Message Bible) Can any statement allege deity more clearly?
In 2CO 3:18 we read: And we all, with unveiled face, beholding[a] the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. In this verse, The Spirit is called The Lord.
The Holy Spirit Possesses Divine Attributes. For example, He is Eternal in His Nature: how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (HEB 9:14) The Holy Spirit is Omnipresent (Everywhere): Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in [a]Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, Even there Your hand will lead me,And Your right hand will lay hold of me. (PSA 139:7-10) He is omnipotent (All Powerful): The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. (LUK 1:35) He is Omniscient (All Knowing): For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. (1CO 2:10)
{to be continued}