The deity of the Holy Spirit |
Now I am
going to compare some verses of the Scripture referring to the Holy Spirit
with other verses referring to God, in order to show you that the Holy Spirit
is God. |
● The
writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews says to the saints: “How much more shall
the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without
spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”
(Hebrews 9:14), while Moses says to God: “Before the mountains were brought
forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from
everlasting to everlasting, thou art God” (Psalm 90:2). Therefore the Spirit
is eternal like God. |
● David
said to God: “Where can I go from Your Spirit?” (Psalm 139:7 - NKJV), while
God said to Jeremiah: “Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not
see him? saith the LORD” (Jeremiah 23:24). Therefore the Spirit is
omnipresent like God. |
● Paul
said: “The Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God” (1
Corinthians 2:10), while Hannah said: “The LORD is a God of knowledge” (1
Samuel 2:3 – The IBRV reads: “L’Eterno è un Dio che sa tutto”, that is, “The
Eternal is a God who knows everything”). Therefore the Spirit is omniscient
like God. |
●
Elihu said: “The Spirit of God hath made me” (Job 33:4), while David said to
God: “For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's
womb” (Psalm 139:13 – The NIV reads: “For you created my inmost being; you
knit me together in my mother’s womb”). Therefore the Spirit creates as God
does, thus He is omnipotent like God. |
●
Jesus said: “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter
into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that
which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:5-6), while John says that
those who believe in the name of the Son of God “were born, not of blood, nor
of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:13).
Therefore the Spirit regenerates as God does. |
●
Peter said to Ananias: “Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to
the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?” (Acts 5:3) and
also: “Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God” (Acts 5:4). Therefore to
lie to the Holy Spirit is to lie to God. |
● In
the book of the Acts of the apostles it is written that Paul said these words
to those Jews in Rome who refused to accept the Gospel: “Well spake the Holy
Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers, Saying, Go unto this people,
and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall
see, and not perceive: For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their
ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should
see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their
heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them” (Acts 28:25-27). As
you can see, it was the Holy Spirit who spoke those words through the prophet
Isaiah. However, according to the book of the prophet Isaiah, it was God who
spoke those words, as it is written: “In the year that king Uzziah died I saw
also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled
the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain
he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he
did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD
of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door
moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips,
and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen
the King, the LORD of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a
live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:
And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and
thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Also I heard the voice of
the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I,
Here am I; send me. And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed,
but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of
this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they
see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their
heart, and convert, and be healed” (Isaiah 6:1-10). Therefore it was both the
Holy Spirit and God who sent Isaiah to prophesy against the people of Israel. |
● In
the book of the Acts of the apostles it is written: “Now there were in the
church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and
Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had
been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the
Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the
work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and
laid their hands on them, they sent them away. So they, being sent forth by
the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to
Cyprus. And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the
synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister” (Acts
13:1-5). Therefore it was the Holy Spirit who sent Paul and Barnabas to
preach. However, Jesus said: “The harvest truly is plenteous, but the
labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will
send forth labourers into his harvest” (Matthew 9:37-38), making it clear
that it is God who sends forth labourers into His harvest. Therefore the Holy
Spirit is God because He sent forth Paul and Barnabas into God’s harvest. |
●
Jesus called the Holy Spirit “the Comforter” (John 15:26). Therefore He
comforts those who are downcast. However, Paul says to the Corinthians:
“Nevertheless God, that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us by
the coming of Titus” (2 Corinthians 7:6), and also: “Blessed be God, even the
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all
comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to
comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves
are comforted of God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). Therefore the Holy Spirit
comforts believers as God does. |
● In
the book of the prophet Isaiah it is written: “But they [the Israelites]
rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; so He turned Himself against them as an
enemy, and He fought against them” (Isaiah 63:10 - NKJV), while in the book
of Psalms it is written: “How often they provoked Him in the wilderness, and
grieved Him in the desert!” (Psalm 78:40 - NKJV). Therefore to grieve the
Holy Spirit is to grieve God. |
●
Paul said to the Corinthians: “Know ye not that your body is the temple of
the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your
own?” (1 Corinthians 6:19) and also: “Know ye not that ye are the temple of
God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16).
Therefore the Holy Spirit indwells believers as God does. |
●
Jesus said: “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will
send in my name, he shall teach you all things” (John 14:26), but He said
also: “And they shall be all taught of God” (John 6:45), and David said: “The
meek will he [God] guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way” (Psalm
25:9). Therefore the Holy Spirit teaches as God does. |
●
Jesus said about the Holy Spirit: “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is
come, he will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13), and David said in the
book of Psalms to God: “Lead me in thy truth, and teach me” (Psalm 25:5).
Therefore if the Spirit of truth guides into the truth as God does, that
means that He is God. |
As you can
see, according to the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit possesses attributes which
belong only to Deity (for He is eternal, omnipresent, omniscient and
omnipotent like God); He is equated with God and does work that only God does |
.