Any common evangelical confession of faith makes a statement about God’s nature and being that goes something like this. <\/p>\n
There is only one true God who exists in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who are equal in divine perfection, coeternal, and execute distinct but harmonious offices. God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) is Holy, sovereign, and personal. God knows all things, is everywhere present, and is all-powerful. God is love, gracious and merciful, and in everyway good. God is spirit, self-existent, and transcendent. Being the Creator of all things, it is in Him that we live and move and exist.<\/p>\n
On this basis when we say that the Holy Spirit is equal in divine perfection and co-eternal, we mean to say that the Holy Spirit is fully God. When we say that He is one of the persons of the Godhead, we mean to say that He is personal and subsists in Himself as His own being, being fully self-aware and having His own personality. It is these two fundamentals truths that we will examine here, that is, the Deity and Personality of the Holy Spirit.<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n In speaking about the Deity of the Holy Spirit, it is important to affirm how in Bible language the Holy Spirit is affirmed again and again as God. Since He is equal in divine perfection, and exists as one with the Father and the Son, being coeternal, it is therefore right to assign to Him all the characteristics of God, existing as His own person, God Himself. This can be seen by examining;<\/p>\n In examining His name<\/u><\/strong>, it becomes evident that He is God because of His formal title, “the Holy Spirit of God.”<\/em><\/strong> In Genesis and Exodus, He is called the Spirit “of God.”<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Genesis 1:2<\/strong> – 2 And the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep; and the Spirit of God<\/span><\/strong> was moving over the surface of the waters. NAS\u00a0 He is referred to as God<\/u><\/strong> in many places in Scripture. \u00a0<\/p>\n For example, in Acts the Bible says that Ananias and Saphira have “lied to the Holy Spirit,”<\/em><\/strong> and then it says that they have “lied to God.”<\/em><\/strong> <\/p>\n Acts 5:3-4<\/strong> – 3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit<\/span><\/strong>, and to keep back some of the price of the land? 4 “While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God<\/span><\/strong>.” NASB Another example would be in 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 and also in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Paul speaks about believers being “the temple of the Holy Spirit.”<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n 1 Corinthians 3:16-17<\/strong> – 16 Do you not know that you are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God<\/span><\/strong> dwells in you? 17 If any man destroys the temple of God<\/span><\/strong>, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy<\/span><\/strong>, and that is what you are. NASB<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n If you are “a temple of God”<\/em><\/strong> because the “Spirit of God dwells in you,”<\/em><\/strong> this means that the Spirit is God.<\/p>\n 1 Corinthians 6:19-20<\/strong> – 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you<\/span><\/strong>, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body. NASB<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Here specifically Paul mentions that we are temples of God, but this time uses the formal title “the Holy Spirit of God”<\/em><\/strong> to refer to God the Holy Spirit living inside of us. These references clearly speak of the divine nature of the Holy Spirit. <\/p>\n In several passages, the Holy Spirit is listed with the Father and the Son, in tri-unity<\/u><\/strong>. In these passages notice that no particular order is given to each of the three members of the Godhead. There is one God existing in three distinct persons. <\/p>\n Matthew 28:19<\/strong> – 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<\/span><\/strong>, NASB It is clear from these references alone that the Holy Spirit is listed in Scripture as a member of God’s triune being. <\/p>\n In 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 the Holy Spirit is actually called by the title Lord<\/u><\/strong>, in the Greek kurios, the common title for the Lord Jesus Christ. In this passage the Bible explicitly says that the “Lord IS the Spirit,”<\/em><\/strong> and also He is referred to as “the Spirit of the Lord.”<\/em><\/strong> It would be difficult to say more clearly that the Spirit is God. <\/p>\n 2 Corinthians 3:17-18<\/strong> – 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit<\/span><\/strong>; and where the Spirit of the Lord<\/span><\/strong> is, there is liberty. 18 But 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<\/span>.<\/strong> NASB<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n In verse 18, the Spirit’s deity is affirmed in yet another expression saying, “from the Lord, the Spirit.”<\/em><\/strong> The point here is that the transforming work in the life of the believer is being done by a work which comes from “the Spirit,”<\/em><\/strong> who IS “the Lord.”<\/em><\/strong> These three references clearly show that the Spirit is God. <\/p>\n In Acts chapter 7, Steven accuses the Jews of resisting the Holy Spirit<\/u><\/strong>.<\/p>\n Acts 7:51<\/strong> – 51 “You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit<\/span><\/strong>; you are doing just as your fathers did. NASB<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n In examining the Old Testament it is clear that the Jews were actually resisting God, therefore is they resisted the Holy Spirit, they were resisting God. This is a clear witness to the deity of the Holy Spirit. <\/p>\n There are places in Scripture where the Holy Spirit is identified as the One who speaks the words of God<\/u><\/strong>. For example in Hebrews 3:7, the Scriptures speak of what the Holy Spirit says;<\/p>\n Hebrews 3:7-8<\/strong> – 7 Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says<\/span>,<\/strong> “Today if you hear His voice, 8 Do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me, As in the day of trial in the wilderness, NASB<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n This is actually a quote from Psalm 95:7-8. Here the Word of God is attributed to the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the Holy Spirit is God. This also happens in the following passages.<\/p>\n In examining His attributes<\/u><\/strong>, it becomes evident that He is God because only God could possess the attributes that are assigned to the Holy Spirit, therefore the Holy Spirit is God. <\/p>\n Of God’s attributes, the Holy Spirit is ascribed of having them. In Hebrews 9:14 He is said to be the Eternal<\/u><\/strong> Spirit. <\/p>\n Hebrews 9:14<\/strong> – 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit<\/span><\/strong> offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? NASB<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Only God is Eternal, therefore, the Holy Spirit is God. No other being besides God has existed from eternity past. In Romans 15, Paul attributes the power<\/u><\/strong> of signs and wonders to the Holy Spirit. <\/p>\n Romans 15:18-19<\/strong> – 18 For I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed, 19 in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit<\/span><\/strong>; so that from Jerusalem and round about as far as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. NASB<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Could any created being have the power to bring healing to physical sickness or raise people from the dead? Certainly one could not. \u00a0But Paul, by the Omnipotent “power of the Spirit”<\/em><\/strong> could. Even the incommunicable attributes of Omnipresence<\/u><\/strong> and Omniscience<\/u><\/strong> are assigned to the Holy Spirit in Psalm 139 and in 1 Corinthians 2. \u00a0<\/p>\n Psalm 139:7-8<\/strong> – 7 Where can I go from Thy Spirit?<\/span><\/strong> Or where can I flee from Thy presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, Thou art there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, Thou art there<\/span><\/strong>. NASB Only God Himself can know the thoughts of God, because in God’s thoughts He possesses exhaustive knowledge of all things. God is Omniscient, He knows everything, past, present and future. Only the Father, Son and Spirit have this knowledge according to Scripture. In Acts 1:8 He is called the Holy Spirit. Can any created being possess God’s attribute of Holiness?<\/u><\/strong> Surely one could not. <\/p>\n Acts 1:8-9<\/strong> – 8 but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit<\/span><\/strong> has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth. ” NASB<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n In 1 John 5:7, the Holy Spirit is actually called “the truth<\/u>.”<\/em><\/strong> <\/p>\n 1 John 5:7<\/strong> – 7 And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is the truth<\/span><\/strong>. NASB<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Only God Himself is the truth, and here the Holy Spirit is clearly seen as God. Since no other created being possesses divine characteristics such as these, it is clear that we are speaking of the person of God. The attributes and characteristics that only God possesses are ascribed to the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the Holy Spirit is God.<\/p>\n In examining His work<\/u><\/strong>, it becomes evident that He is God because only God could do the things that are attributed to the Holy Spirit, therefore the Holy Spirit is God.<\/p>\n The Holy Spirit is the One who applies Christ’s redemption to believers in the New Birth. We are said to be “born of the Spirit,”<\/em><\/strong> and that regeneration comes by the washing and renewal of the Spirit. The Spirit performs regeneration, which is a supernatural act of God.<\/p>\n John 3:7-8<\/strong> – 7 “Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit<\/span><\/strong>.” NASB The Holy Spirit is also the One who sanctifies the believer throughout his earthly life. The New Testament specifically assigns the work of sanctification to the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n 1 Peter 1:2<\/strong> – 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit<\/span>, <\/strong>that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in fullest measure. NASB The Holy Spirit is also said to be the One who reveals the truth to Biblical writers as they were writing Holy Scripture. Not only this, but, the ministry of teaching and revelation to every believer, is said to be carried out by the Holy Spirit. <\/p>\n 2 Peter 1:20-21 – <\/strong>20 But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, 21 for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God<\/span><\/strong>. NASB The Holy Spirit is the One in Scripture seen to distribute spiritual gifts the body of Christ for His own sovereign purpose and will. <\/p>\n 1 Corinthians 12:11 – <\/strong>11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills<\/span>. <\/strong>NASB<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The Holy Spirit is the One who is described as “baptizing believers into the body.” <\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n 1 Corinthians 12:13-14 – <\/strong>13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body<\/span><\/strong>, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. NASB<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n This happened first on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 1:5, 2:4) and then subsequently happens each time someone is “born again.”<\/em><\/strong> They receive the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit at salvation (regeneration), being therefore “born of the Spirit.”<\/em><\/strong> <\/p>\n Romans 8:11 – <\/strong>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<\/span><\/strong>. <\/strong>NASB He is also the One said to empower the believer for service by the imparting of divine grace and strength to fulfill God’s will. <\/p>\n Acts 1:8<\/strong>– 8 but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you<\/span><\/strong>; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth. ” NASBThe Deity of the Holy Spirit<\/h2>\n
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\n Exodus 31:3-4<\/strong> – 3 And I have filled him with the Spirit of God<\/span><\/strong> in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship, NAS
\n In Acts and Ephesians He is called “the Holy” <\/em><\/strong>Spirit.
\n Acts 7:51<\/strong> – 51 “You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit<\/span><\/strong>; you are doing just as your fathers did. NASB
\n Ephesians 4:30<\/strong> – 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God<\/span><\/strong>, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. NAS
\n Learn here, there is only ONE who is “holy.” <\/em><\/strong>Therefore if the Spirit is Holy, He must be God.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
\n It is plain from this text alone, that the Holy Spirit is God.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
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\n 1 Corinthians 12:4-6<\/strong> – 4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit<\/span>.<\/strong> 5 And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord<\/span>.<\/strong> 6 And there are varieties of effects, but the same God<\/span><\/strong> who works all things in all persons. NASB
\n Ephesians 4:4-6<\/strong> – 4 There is one body and one Spirit<\/span><\/strong>, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord<\/span><\/strong>, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father<\/span><\/strong> of all who is over all and through all and in all. NASB<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
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\n 1 Corinthians 2:11<\/strong> – 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<\/span>.<\/strong> NASB<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
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\n Titus 3:5 <\/strong>– 5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit<\/span><\/strong>, NASB<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
\n 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14<\/strong> – 13 But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit<\/span><\/strong> and faith in the truth. NASB<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
\n John 14:26<\/strong> – 26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things<\/span><\/strong>, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. NASB
\n 1 Corinthians 2:10-12<\/strong> – 10 For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God<\/span><\/strong>. 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. NASB<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
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\n 1 Corinthians 6:19<\/strong> – 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you<\/span><\/strong>, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? NASB<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
\n Acts 6:8<\/strong> – 8 And Stephen,